BANCROFT 
LIBRARY 

-o- 

THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

Gift  of 
John  Wooster 


THE    LIFE    OF 


HENRY    DODGE, 


FROM     1782    TO     1833. 


WITH  PORTRAIT  BY  GEORGE  CATLIN, 

AND    MAPS    OF    THE   BATTLES    OF    THE    PECATONICA    AND 
WISCONSIN   HEIGHTS  IN  THE  BLACK   HAWK  WAR. 


BY  WILLIAM  ,  SALTER, 


»  BURLINGTON,    IOWA 

1890. 


/  6  Z5V) 


f  L\ 

'  &<ff  of  J 


HENRY    DODGE, 

GOVERNOR  OF  THE  ORIGINAL  TERRITORY 
OF  WISCONSIN. 


IOGRAPHIES  are  the  life  of  history.  Great  men 
are  the  chief  elements  of  a  nation's  power  and 
renown.  Plutarch's  "Lives"  furnish  the  best 
account  extant  of  the  old  Greeks  and  Romans. 
He  who  has  mastered  the  biographies  of  George  Washington, 
Benjamin  Franklin,  Thomas  Jefferson,  Andrew  Jackson,  and 
Abraham  Lincoln,  knows  the  chief  parts  of  American  history. 
When  Thomas  Carlyle  had  completed  his  "Elucidation  of 
Oliver  Cromwell"  he  wrote  to  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson:  "I 
wish  you  would  take  an  America  hero  and  give  us  a  history 
of  him." 

The  settlement  and  growth  of  the  territory  northwest  of 
the  Ohio  river  is  one  of  the  marvels  of  American  history;  it 
cannot  be  better  told  than  in  the  lives  of  its  pioneers.  Promi 
nent  among  them,  a  heroic  man,  was  Henry  Dodge.  Born  in 
that  territory  at  Post  St.  Vincents  (Vincennes),  October  I2th, 
1782,  his  life  covered  nearly  the  whole  of  the  first  century 
of  its  settlement.  The  Canadian  French  had  been  earlier 
upon  the  ground,  but  he  was  the  first  "American  "  child  born 


2  HKNKY    DOIHJK. 

in  what  is  now  the  State  of  Indiana.  He  was  a  leader  in 
putting  an  end  to  the  Black  Hawk  war.  One  of  the  results 
of  that  war,  "partly  as  indemnity  for  the  expense  incurred, 
and  partly  to  secure  the  future  safety  and  tranquillity  of  the 
invaded  frontier,"  was  a  cession  to  the  United  States  of  a 
tract  lying  along  the  west  bank  of  the  Mississippi,  from  which 
Black  Hawk  had  gone  to  wage  war  in  April  1832,  and  upon 
which  the  next  year  the  first  permanent  settlements  in  what  is 
now  Iowa  were  commenced.  He  was  governor  of  the  original 
Territory  of  Wisconsin,  when  what  is  now  Iowa  was  included 
therein.  A  sketch  of  his  life  and  public  services  is  appropriate 
to  the  IOWA  HISTORICAL  RECORD. 

Among  his  papers,  which  were  preserved  by  his  son, 
Augustus  C.  Dodge,  is  a  package  bearing  the  simple  inscrip 
tion  in  his  handwriting,  "Commissions  in  the  Service  of  My 
Country."  There  was  also  included  in  this  package  the  com 
mission  of  his  father,  Israel  Dodge,  as  sheriff  of  the  District 
of  St.  Genevieve,  signed  by  William  Henry  Harrison,  gover 
nor  and  commander  in  chief  of  the  Indiana  Territory  and  of 
the  District  of  Louisiana,  John  Gibson,  secretary,  October  i, 
1804. 

The  commissions  of  Henry  Dodge  cover  a  long  period  of 
public  service.  They  embrace  the  signatures  of  six  presi 
dents  of  the  United  States,  and  of  many  other  distinguished 
men.  It  is  doubtful  if  there  exists  another  collection  of  equal 
interest  and  value  in  the  documentary  history  of  the  West,  un 
less  it  may  be  in  connection  with  the  life  of  William  Henry  Har 
rison,  or  the  life  of  Lewis  Cass,  who  were  illustrious  pioneers. 
They  were  not  born,  like  the  subject  of  this  memoir,  in  the 
West;  but  they  filled  with  honor  some  of  its  highest  stations. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  commissions  in  the  package  re 
ferred  to: 

1.  Lieutenant  of  Militia  in  the  District  of  St  Genevieve;  signed  by  James 
Wilkinson,  governor  and  commander  in  chief  of  the  Territory  of  Louisiana; 
Joseph  Browne,  secretary,  May  xoth,  1806. 

2.  Adjutant  of  the  Militia  in  the  District   of    St.  Genevieve;  signed   by 


HENRY  DODGE.  3 

James  Wilkinson,  governor,  etc.,  July  lyth,  1806.     This  commission  also  bears 
the  oath  of  office  sworn  to  by  H.  Dodge  before  Jno.  Smith,  T.,  March  2d,  1807. 

3.  First  Lieutenant  of  St.  Generic ve  Troop  of  Cavalry  ;  signed  by  Frederick 
Bates,   secretary   of  the   Territory    of  Louisiana,  and    exercising  as  well  the 
government  thereof  as  the  office  of  commander  in  chief  of  the  militia  of  said 
territory;  St.  Louis,  August  I4th,  1807. 

4.  Captain  of  St.    Genevieve  Trooop  of  Cavalry;  signed   by   Meriwerher 
Lewis,  governor  and  commander  in   chief  of  the  Territory  of  Louisiana;  F. 
Bates,  secretary,  July  loth,  1809. 

5.  Marshal  for  the  Territory  of  Missouri;  notification   of  appointment  by 
President  Madison;  signed  by  James  Monroe,  secretary  of  state,  August  loth, 
1813. 

6.  Sheriff  of  the    County    of    St.    Genevieve;   signed   by    William    Clark? 
governor  of  the  Territory  of  Missouri;  F.  Bates,  secretary,  October  ist,  1813. 

7.  Brigadier  General  of  the  Missouri  Territory;  to  rank  as   such  from  the 
17th    of  January,    1814;  signed  by  James  Madison,  president  ,of  the  United 
States;  J.  Armstrong,  secretary  of  war,  Washington,  April  i6th,  1814. 

8.  Sheriff  of  the  County  of  St.  Genevieve;  signed  by  Wm.  Clark,  gover 
nor  of  the  Territory  of  Missouri;  F.  Bates,  secretary,  September  3oth,  1815. 

9.  Marshal    for   the    District  of  Missouri;  notification  of   appointment  by 
President  Madison ;  signed  by  John  Graham,  chief  clerk  of  the  department  of 
state,  February  25th,  1817. 

10.  Marshal  in  and  for  the  Missouri  District  for  four  years;  signed  by  James 
Monroe,  president;  John  Quincy  Adams,  secretary  of  state,  April  25th,  1822. 

11.  Major    General    of    the    Second  Division   Missouri  Militia;    signed    by 
Alexander   McNair,  .governor   of    the   State   of    Missouri;  Wm.    G.    Pettus, 
secretary  of  state;  St.  Charles,  May  8,  1822. 

12.  Marshal  of  the  United  States  in  and  for  the  District  of  Missouri  for  four 
years  from   April  25th,  1826;  signed  by  J.  Q.  Adams,  president;  Henry  Clay, 
secretary  of  state,  December  22d,  1825. 

13.  Chief  Justice  of  the   County  Court  in  and  for  the  County  of  Iowa  for 
four  vears  from  December  ist,  1829;  signed  by  Lewis  Cass,  governor  of  the 
Territory  of  Michigan;  J.  Witherell,  secretary;  Detroit,   October   i4th,    1829. 

14.  Colonel  in  the  Militia  of  the  Territory   of  Michigan;  signed  by   Lewis 
Cass,  governor;  October  I5th,  1829. 

15.  Major  of  the  Battalion  of  Mounted  Rangers,  to  rank  from  June  21,  1832; 
signed  by  Andrew  Jackson,  president;  Lewis  Cass,  secretary  of  war,  June  22d, 
1832. 

16.  Colonel  of  the   Regiment  of  Dragoons,  to  rank  from  the  4th  of  March, 
1833;  signed  by   Andrew  Jackson,  president;  Lewis  Cass,  secretary  of  war; 
May  loth,  1834. 

17.  Governor  of  the  Territory  of  Wisconsin   for  three  years  from  July  3d, 
1836;  signed  by  Andrew  Jackson,  president;  John  Forsyth,  secretary  of  state; 
April  30th,  1836. 


4  HENRY  DODGE. 

18.  Governor  of  the  Territory  of  Wisconsin  for  three  years  from  July  3d, 
1839;  signed  by   M.  Van  Buren,  president;  John   Forsyth,  secretary  of  state; 
March  9th,  1839. 

19.  Governor  of  the  Territory  of  Wisconsin  for  three  years  from  February  3d, 
1846;  signed  by  James  K.  Polk,  president;  James  Buchanan,  secretary  of  state; 
February  3d,  1846. 

Henry  Dodge  was  of  the  fourth  or  fifth  generation  from 
Tristram  Dodge,  one  of  the  original  proprietors  of  Block 
Island,  Rhode  Island.1  His  mother,  born  in  Carlisle,  Pennsyl 
vania,  was  a  heroic  woman,  of  Scotch-Irish  stock.  The  Hon. 
Felix  Grundy,  of  Tennessee,  was  intimately  acquainted  with 
her,  and  "esteemed  her  as  one  of  the  most  rarely-gifted  and 
wonderful  ladies  he  had  ever  met  with."  2  Henry  Dodge  passed 
his  childhood  near  Louisville,  and  at  Bardstown,  Kentucky. 
At  the  age  of  fourteen  he  joined  his  father  in  Upper  Louisiana, 
then  Spanish  country,  but  at  different  periods  returned  to 
Kentucky,  where  at  one  time  he  read  law  in  the  office  of  Col. 
Allen,  who  was  killed  at  the  battle  of  the  river  Raisin, 
January,  1813.  For  a  sketch  of  his  parents,  and  for  other 
incidents  of  his  early  life,  the  reader  is  referred  to  an  article 
upon  his  mother,  entitled,  "A  Heroine  of  the  Revolution,"  in 
THE  RECORD  for  July,  1886,  and  to  an  article  upon  his  son, 
"Augustus  C.  Dodge,"  in  THE  RECORD  for  January,  1887. 

The  public  life  of  Henry  Dodge  commenced  as  deputy 
sheriff  of  the  District  of  St.  Genevieve  under  his  father  in 
1805,  and  continued  until  the  expiration  of  his  second  term  as 
a  senator  of  the  United  States  in  1857,  a  period  of  fifty-two 
years.  In  addition  to  holding  the  offices  indicated  by  the 
above  enumerated  commissions,  he  was  a  member  of  the  con 
vention  that  framed  the  constitution  of  the  State  of  Missouri 
in  1820;  he  was  chosen,  in  July,  1831,  a  member  of  the  legis 
lative  council  of  the  Territory  of  Michigan  to  meet  at  Detroit 
in  May,  1832,  but  on  account  of  the  breaking  out  of  the 

1  Tristram  Dodge  and  descendants,  by  Robert  Dodge,  New  York,  1886,  chx  ix. 

2  MS.  Letter  of  Mrs.   E.  A.  R.  Linn  to  A.  C.  Dodge,  May  2d,  1854;  Lifo 
and  Public  Services  of  Dr  Lewis  F.  Linn,  pp.  n,  16,  17,  344;  Benton's  Thirty 
Years'  View,  v.  2,  p.  485. 


HENRY  DODGE.  5 

Black  Hawk  war  he  did  not  attend;  he  was  delegate  to 
Congress  from  the  Territory  of  Wisconsin,  1841-5;  and  a 
senator  of  the  United  States  from  the  State  of  Wisconsin, 
1848-57. 

In  the  summer  of  1805  Aaron  Burr  visited  the  West.  He 
was  at  St.  Louis  in  September  of  that  year,  and  threw  out 
vague  hints  of  some  splendid  enterprise  in  prospect  for  the 
Western  country.  Whether  under  feint  of  an  attack  upon 
Mexico  in  the  interest  of  the  United  States  he  aimed  to  seat 
himself  upon  the  throne  of  Montezuma,  and  extend  his 
empire  over  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  remains  a  mystery. 
President  Jefferson  believed  that  something  of  that  kind  was 
in  his  mind;  at  the  same  time  he  compared  him  to  "a  crooked 
gun  whose  aim  or  shot  you  could  never  be  sure  of." 

Upon  Burr's  expedition  dowrn  the  Ohio  in  the  fall  of  1806, 
Henry  Dodge,  with  his  friend  John  Smith,  T.,  a  man 
famous  for  daring  adventure,  set  out  to  join  it.  If  there  was 
to  be  any  fighting,  they  said,  they  must  take  a  hand.  They 
proceeded  to  New  Madrid,  where  Burr  was  expecting  to 
meet  recruits  coming  down  the  Mississippi.  Here  they  were 
apprised  of  President  Jefferson's  proclamation  declaring  the 
enterprise  unlawful;  whereupon  they  sold  their  canoes,  bought 
horses,  and  returned  home.  They  were  of  Andrew  Jackson's 
way  of  thinking,  who  said,  "  I  hate  the  Dons ;  I  would  delight 
to  see  Mexico  reduced ;  but  I  would  die  in  the  last  ditch  before 
I  would  see  the  Union  disunited."  On  reaching  St.  Genevieve 
they  found  themselves  indicted  for  treason  by  the  grand  jury 
then  in  session.  Dodge  surrendered  himself,  and  gave  bail 
for  his  appearance;  but  feeling  outraged  by  the  action  of  the 
grand  jury  he  pulled  off  his  coat,  rolled  up  his  sleeves,  and 
whipt  nine  of  the  jurors;  and  would  have  whipt  the  rest,  if 
they  had  not  run  away.  He  was  a  tall  man,  over  six  feet 
high,  straight  as  an  Indian,  and  possessed  great  strength.2 

1  Jefferson's  Works,  v.  5.,  pp.  28,  68. 

2  Personal  Recollections,  by  John  F.  Darby,  p.  87. 


6  HENRY  DODGE. 

He  was  one  of  the  original  trustees  of  St.  Genevieve  Aca 
demy,  which  was  incorporated  by  act  of  the  governor  and 
judges  of  the  Territory  of  Louisiana,  June  2ist,  1808.  A 
large  stone  building  was  erected  upon  a  hill  overlooking  the 
town,  that  commands  a  line  view  of  the  bluffs  above,  of  the 
prairie  below,  and  of  the  Mississippi  sweeping  along  in  the 
distance.  Mann  Butler,  the  historian  of  Kentucky,  was  at 
one  time  a  teacher  in  this  academy.  It  was  in  a  flourishing 
condition  in  1854-1862,  under  the  control  of  Hon.  Francis  A. 
Rozier. 

A  few  years  after  the  region  west  of  the  Mississippi  had 
come  into  the  possession  of  the  United  States,  ardent  to  foster 
American  feeling  among  the  inhabitants,  he  went  up  to  the 
ruins  of  Fort  Chartres,  to  obtain  a  cannon  for  a  celebration  of 
the  4th  of  July  at  St.  Genevieve.  In  the  previous  century  the 
Fort  had  been  a  stronghold  of  the  "Illinois  Country;"  first, 
under  the  possession  of  both  sides  of  the  Mississippi  by  the 
French,  1720-1765;  afterwards  of  the  east  side  by  the  English, 
1 765-1772.'  It  was  now  a  crumbling  ruin.  He  made  up  a 
party  consisting  of  his  family,  Lewis  F.  Linn,  his  half  brother, 
.Otto  Schrader,  one  of  the  judges  of  the  territory,  and  a  few 
others.  They  embarked  upon  a  sunny  morning  in  June,  1811, 
on  a  keel  boat,  manned  by  negroes,  who  propelled  it  with 
poles  and  sweeps.  The  voyage  was  slow  and  laborious, 
against  a  strong  current,  the  distance  about  ten  miles.  On 
reaching  the  fort  they  picked  out  from  the  debris  a  heavy 
cannon,  of  iron;  having  no  levers  or  hoisting  apparatus,  night 
came  on  before  they  succeeded  in  loading  it  on  the  boat,  when 
they  floated  back  to  St.  Genevieve,  the  full  moon  rising 

1  On  a  gloomy  spring  night  in  1772  the  Mississippi  made  its  last  wild  leap  at 
the  old  fort,  and  swept  away  the  southern  curtain  and  bastions.  The  troops 
vacated  the  place  and  built  Fort  Gage,  on  the  bluffs  near  Kaskaskia,  which 
was  headquarters  during  the  remainder  of  the  British  occupation.  Fort 
Chartres  was  never  reoccupied.  Its  walls  formed  a  quarry  for  the  people  of 
the  neighborhood,  who  carried  them  off  stone  by  stone.  The  magazine  alone 
remains  intact,  and  lifts  its  bramble-covered  arch  amid  the  modern  farm-varcl 
into  which  the  place  has  been  converted. — Dunn's  Indiana,  pp.  76,  77. 


HENRY  DODGE.  7 

brightly  over  the  turbid  river.  The  people  of  the  village 
welcomed  them  home,  and  assisted  in  unloading  and  mounting 
the  cannon,  and  its  thunders  reverberated  in  honor  of  Ameri 
can  independence.  The  same  cannon  served  for  patriotic 
occasions  for  thirty  years,  until  it  burst  on  the  fourth  of  July, 
I840.1 

Not  a  few  desperate  characters  infested  the  frontiers  in 
those  days.  His  duties  as  sheriff  required  energy  and  de 
cision.  While  in  that  office  he  hung  two  notorious  murderers 
— Peter  Johnson,  August  3d,  1810,  and  Charles  Heath,  March 
pth,  1812 — on  Academy  Hill. 

On  the  first  day  of  October,  1811,  he  and  John  Scott,  after 
wards  delegate  to  Congress  from  the  Territory  of  Missouri, 
1817-21,  and  member  of  Congress  from  the  State,  1821-27, 
were  seconds  in  a  duel  between  two  prominent  citizens  of  St. 
Genevieve,  Dr.  Walter  Fenwick  and  Thomas  T.  Crittenden, 
a  brother  of  the  distinguished  John  Jay  Crittenden.  The  duel 
was  fought  on  a  sandbar,  Moreau's  Island,  a  few  miles  below 
the  village,  and  Dr.  Fenwick  fell  mortally  wounded.  Dr. 
Fenwick  had  no  part  in  the  quarrel  which  led  to  the  duel,  but 
took  a  brother's  place,  from  whom  Crittenden  had  refused  a 
challenge. 

Before  war  broke  out  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United 
States  in  1812,  British  emissaries  had  excited  the  savages 
upon  the  frontiers  to  hostilities  against  the  American  settle 
ments.  General  Harrison  had  repulsed  them  at  Tippecanoe, 
November  7th,  1811;  but  they  rallied  to  the  British  side  in 
artful  combinations  under  Tecumseh.  Among  some  tribes, 
however,  there  was  a  division  of  sentiment.  The  Sacs  of  Rock 
river  under  "General  Black  Hawk,"  as  the  English  called 
him,  entered  the  British  service.  Some  other  bands  of  Sacs 
and  Foxes  were  friendly  to  the  Americans,  and  their  chiefs 
went  to  St.  Louis,  and  tendered  aid  to  the  United  States. 
But  our  Government  declined  to  employ  them.  Of  restless 

1  Hon.  Firmin  A.  Rozier,  in  Fair  Play,  St.  Genevieve,  January  iSth,  1885. 


8  HENRY  DO*DGE. 

nature,  the  savages  could  not  remain  quiet  in  a  time  of  war. 
Marauding  bands  of  different  tribes,  bent  on  pillage  and 
murder,  beset  the  scattered  settlements.  In  September,  1812, 
an  assault  was  made  upon  Fort  Madison,  the  only  fort  which 
the  United  States  had  erected  in  what  is  now  Iowa.  The 
"Boone's  Lick  Settlement,"  consisting  of  about  150  families, 
in  what  is  now  Howard  and  Cooper  counties,  Missouri,  where 
Daniel  Boone  had  been  the  earliest  adventurer  in  1800,  and 
where  his  son  Nathan  had  commenced  the  manufacture  of 
salt  in  1807?  was  in  a  very  exposed  situation,  and  suffered 
frequent  depredations.  A  number  of  prominent  persons  in 
the  settlement  were  killed  by  the  savages. 

Upon  the  call  of  the  governor  of  the  Territory,  Henry 
Dodge  took  the  field.  He  raised  a  mounted  rifle  company  at 
St.  Genevieve,  and  was  made  major  of  the  Territorial  militia, 
and  was  subsequently  appointed  Brigadier  General  of  the 
militia  of  the  Territory  by  President  Madison.  By  his  courage 
and  skill,  having  great  knowledge  of  Indian  character,  he 
overawed  and  composed  hostile  and  wavering  bands,  and 
carried  relief  and  protection  to  the  frontiers.  His  half  brother, 
Lewis  F.  Linn,  who  had  pursued  medical  studies  with  Dr. 
Gault,  of  Louisville,  Ky.,  accompanied  him  as  surgeon  to  the 
troops. 

Parts  of  several  tribes  belonging  on  the  east  side  of  the 
Mississippi  had  been  removed  at  their  own  request  to  the 
valley  of  the  Missouri,  that  they  might  be  out  of  the  reach  of 
British  influence;  but  they  proved  perfidious,  and  were  a 
terror  to  the  settlements.  Among  them  was  a  band  of 
Miamies  (Piankeshaws),  which  General  Harrison  had  sent 
west  in  order  to  detach  them  from  the  Prophet's  band.  They 
occupied  the  region  above  the  mouth  of  the  Osage  river. 
General  Dodge  conducted  an  expedition  to  correct  and  punish 
them  in  the  summer  of  1814.  It  consisted  of  three  com 
panies  of  mounted  men;  one  from  Cape  Girardeau,  one  from 
St.  Louis,  one  from  the  Boone's  Lick  Settlement  (Capt. 
Cooper),  and  sixty-six  Shawnees,  under  Kishkalwa,  a  Shaw- 


HENRY  DODGE.  9 

nee  chief.  In  making  a  rapid  movement  for  the  purpose  of 
taking  the  Miamies  by  surprise,  having  the  Missouri  river  to 
cross,  the  whole  command  dashed  into  the  rushing  stream,  and 
swam  their  horses  to  the  opposite  shore.  They  found  that 
the  affrighted  Indians  had  deserted  their  village  and  taken  to 
the  woods.  On  being  collected  together  the  Indians  gave  up 
their  arms,  and  begged  to  be  spared  their  lives.  Gen.  Dodge 
accepted  their  surrender,  and  was  making  preparations  to  dis 
pose  of  them  by  sending  them  out  of  the  country.  Mean 
while  the  "Boone's  Lickers  "  had  become  infuriated  against 
them  from  finding  in  their  possession  and  about  their  persons 
articles  of  booty  and  spoil  \vhich  they  had  taken  from  their 
kindred  and  neighbors  whom  they  had  plundered  and  mur 
dered.  Word  came  to  the  General  that  there  was  to  be  an 
indiscriminate  massacre  of  all  the  Miamies.  He  immediately 
rode  to  the  spot  where  they  were  collected,  and  found  the 
frightened  Indians  upon  their  knees  addressing  a  death-prayer 
to  the  Manitou,  while  the  "  Boone's  Lickers  "  were  in  the  act 
of  levelling  their  guns  at  them.  He  quickly  spurred  his  horse 
between  the  muzzles  of  the  guns  and  the  Indians,  and  placing 
the  point  of  his  sword  to  Capt.  Cooper's  bosom,  told  him  and 
his  men  that  they  could  not  shoot  except  through  the  dead 
body  of  their  commander.  After  some  angry  looks  and  hard 
words  the  Captain  demanded  his  men  to  desist. 

The  Miamies  expressed  the  warmest  gratitude  to  Gen. 
Dodge  for  saving  them  from  death.  They  were  afterwards 
conducted  in  safety  to  St.  Louis,  and  conveyed  to  their  former 
home  on  the  Wabash.  Long  afterwards  in  narrating  the 
scene  to  his  son  Augustus,  Gen.  Dodge  said  that  he  felt  more 
pride  and  gratification  at  having  saved  the  lives  of  his  Miami 
prisoners  than  he  ever  did  at  any  triumph  upon  the  field  of 
battle.  His  magnanimity  and  firmness  of  character  deeply  im 
pressed  the  friendly  Shawnees  and  Delawares  who  were  in  his 
command.  Twenty  years  after  this  event,  when  stationed  at 
Fort  Leavenworth  as  colonel  of  U.  S.  Dragoons,  he  was  visi 
ted  by  various  Indian  chiefs,  among  others  by  Kishkalwa,  the 


io  HENRY   Doi><ri:. 

Shawnee  chief,  who  had  been  with  his  troops  in  1814.  As 
the  chief  came  in  he  embraced  and  kissed  Col.  Dodge,  to  the 
surprise  of  his  family  who  were  present.  Other  spectators 
were  deeply  impressed  as  they  saw  the  chief's  esteem  and 
affection  for  his  old  commander.  More  than  seventy  years 
after  the  event,  a  venerable  pensioner  who  had  emigrated  to 
California  referred  with  pride  to  his  having  been  "a  soldier 
under  Henry  Dodge  in  the  war  of  1812." 

In  July,  1815,  Gen  Dodge  was  stationed  with  a  strong  mili 
tary  force  at  Portage  des  Sioux,  on  the  west  side  of  the 
Mississippi,  a  short  distance  above  the  mouth  of  the  Missouri, 
to  maintain  order  and  to  prevent  any  collision  or  surprise 
among  the  chiefs  and  headmen  of  the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  Potta- 
wattamies,  Sioux,  and  other  tribes,  who  were  there  assembled 
with  Governor  William  Clark,  of  Missouri  Territory,  Gover 
nor  Ninian  Edwards,  of  Illinois  Territory,  and  Auguste  Cho- 
teau,  of  St.  Louis,  as  commissioners  of  the  United  States  for 
the  purpose  of  negotiating  treaties  of  peace.  His  name  is 
appended  as  a  witness  to  the  treaties  made  with  the  Teeton 
and  Yancton  tribes,  July  19,  i8i5-2 

After  the  war  he  resumed  the  business  of  salt-making  which 
his  father  had  commenced  at  the  mouth  of  Saline  river,  and 
was  dubbed  "Salt-boiler."  At  one  time  he  was  interested  in  a 
large  and  costly  establishment  with  John  Scott  and  Ed\vard 
Hempstead  at  Peyroux's  Saline.  The  business  was  profitable, 
but  as  transportation  from  the  Ohio  valley  was  cheapened  by 
steamboats,  which  first  appeared  on  the  Upper  Mississippi  in 
July,  1817,  prices  declined  from  five  dollars  a  bushel  to  75 
cents,  and  he  lost  all  he  had  made.  He  also  carried  on  lead 
mining  and  smelting  at  Shibboleth,  in  what  is  now  Jefferson 
County,  Mo.  The  only  money  in  the  country  was  Spanish 
silver  dollars.  There  was  no  small  coin.  "I  have  frequently 
seen  my  father,"  said  his  son  Augustus,  "go  to  a  blacksmith 

1  Record,  January,  1887,  p.  422. 

2  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  vii,  125,  128. 


HENRY  DODGE.  1 1 

shop  with  a  bag  of  silver  dollars,  and  then  cut  them  up  into 
halves,  quarters  and  eighths,  for  small  change.  My  mother 
made  buckskin  pockets  in  his  clothes  to  carry  this  fractional 
currency." 

In  May,  1820,  he  was  elected  by  the  people  of  St.  Gene- 
vieve  County  a  member  of  the  Convention  that  assembled  the 
following  month  at  St.  Louis  and  adopted  a  Constitution  for 
the  State  of  Missouri.  The  Territorial  legislature  of  1818 
had  proposed  as  the  northern  boundary  of  the  State  a  line 
drawn  due  west  from  the  mouth  of  Rock  river.  It  is  interest 
ing  to  the  people  of  Iowa,  and  of  Missouri  also,  after  the  lapse 
of  seventy  years,  to  read  the  reasons  which  were  then  as 
signed  for  that  proposition,  viz: 

The  districts  of  country  that  are  fertile  and  susceptible  of  settlement  are 
small,  and  separated  from  each  other  at  great  distances  by  immense  plains  and 
barren  tracts,  which  must  for  ages  remain  waste  and  uninhabited.  One  of  the 
objects  in  view  is  the  formation  of  an  effectual  barrier  against  Indian  incur 
sions  bv  pushing  forward  a  strong  settlement  at  the  little  river  Platte  to  the 
west,  and  on  the  Des  Moines  to  the  north.1 

The  Convention,  however,  was  content  with  the  limits  ap 
pointed  by  Congress  in  the  act  to  authorize  the  people  of 
Missouri  Territory  to  form  a  Constitution  and  State  government, 
approved  March  6th,  1820,  which  fixed  the  northern  boundary 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Des  Moines  river,  and  west  of  that  river 
on  "the  parallel  of  latitude  which  passes  through  the  rapids 
of  the  river  Des  Moines."  Years  afterwards,  when  that 
boundary  line  became  a  matter  of  dispute,  he  gave  his  testi 
mony  in  his  message  to  the  First  Legislative  Assembly  of 
Wisconsin  Territory,  at  its  second  session  held  in  Burlington, 
Des  Moines  County,  November  7th,  1837,  as  follows: 

By  the  act  of  Congress  of  1820  the  limits  of  the  State  of  Missouri  were  de 
nned:  and  it  was  well  understood  by  the  members  of  the  convention  who 
formed  the  constitution  of  that  state  that  "  the  rapids  of  the  river  Des  Moines" 
were  the  rapids  on  the  Mississippi,  near  the  mouth  of  that  river. 

Ten  years  later,  under  date  of  Dodgeville,  December  nth, 

l  A.  State  Papers,  Miscellaneous,  ii,  557. 


12  HENRY  DODGE. 

1847,  he  gave  the  following  testimony,  which  \vas  submitted 
to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  in  the  case  of  the 
State  of  Missouri  vs.  The  State  of  Iowa : 

I  was  a  member  of  the  convention  that  formed  the  constitution  of  the  State 
of  Missouri  in  1820,  and  during  the  session  of  the  convention  I  never  under 
stood  or  heard  the  rapids  in  the  river  Des  Moines  mentioned  to  the  best  of  my 
recollection;  and  my  recollection  is  clear  in  1820  that  the  lower  Mississippi 
rapids  was  called  "the  rapids  of  the  river  Des  Moines,"  or  "the  river  Des 
Moines  rapids." 

It  was  a  pleasing  incident  in  his  capacity  as  Major  General 
of  the  militia  of  Missouri,  to  receive  the  Marquis  de  Lafayette, 
and  do  him  military  honor  upon  his  visit  to  St.  Louis,  the  2pth 
of  April,  1825. 

Embarrassed  in  his  fortunes,  Mr.  Dodge  left  Missouri,  in 
1827,  for  the  Fevre  river  lead  mines.  That  region  was  then 
attracting  the  adventurous  and  the  enterprising.  He  reached 
Galena  at  the  time  of  a  threatened  outbreak  of  the  Winne- 
bago  Indians,  which  had  alarmed  the  settlers.  He  was  called 
upon  by  Henry  and  Jean  P.  B.  Gratiot  and  other  prominent 
citizens  to  take  the  lead  in  the  defense  of  the  district.  Many 
had  fled  into  Galena  for  safety.  "The  little  place"  says  an 
eye-witness,  "was  crowded  witri  families  pouring  in  from  the 
mines.  The  flat  between  the  bluff  and  the  river  was  covered 
with  wagons,  families  camping  in  them;  block  houses  \vere 
erected  on  the  hill,  companies  forming,  drums  beating,  and 
General  Dodge  busily  engaged  in  organizing  troops  and  creat 
ing  order  and  confidence  out  of  terror  and  confusion."  1 

Gen.  Dodge  sent  Moses  Meeker  to  induce  the  Fox  Indians, 
who  then  possessed  the  country  where  is  now  the  city  of 
Dubuque,  to  take  sides  against  the  Winnebagoes,  but  they  de 
clined  any  part  in  the  contest. 

The  following  letter  was  addressed  to  Brigadier  General 
Atkinson,  U.  S.  Army,  who  had  come  up  to  the  scene  of  dis 
turbance  from  St.  Louis  with  a  force  of  600  infantry  and  150 
mounted  men : 

1  Mrs.  Adele  P.  Gratiot,  Wisconsin  His.  Collections,  x,  270. 


HENRY  DODGE.  13 

GALENA,  August  26th,  1827. 
Gen.  H.  Atkinson,  Prairie  du  Chien. 

Dear  General: — Capt.  Henry,  the  chairman  of  the  committee  of  safety,  will 
wait  on  you  at  Prairie  du  Chien  before  your  departure  from  that  place.  He  is  an 
intelligent  gentleman,  who  understands  well  the  situation  of  the  country.  The 
letter  accompanying  Governor  Cass's  communication  to  you  has  excited  in 
some  measure  the  people  in  this  part  of  the  country.  As  the  principal  part  of 
the  efficient  force  is  preparing  to  accompany  you  on  your  expedition  up  the 
Ouisconsin,  it  might  have  a  good  effect  to  send  a  small  regular  force  to  this  part 
of  the  country,  and  in  our  absence  they  might  render  protection  to  this  region.  I 
feel  fhe  importance  of  your  having  as  many  mounted  men  as  the  country  can 
afford,  to  aid  in  punishing  those  insolent  Winnebagoes  who  are  wishing  to 
unite,  it  would  seem,  in  common  with  all  the  disaffected  Indians  on  our 
borders.  From  information  received  last  night,  some  straggling  Indians  have 
been  seen  on  our  frontiers. 

Your  friend  and  obedient  servant,  H.  DODGE. 

With  his  mounted  volunteers,  130  in  number,  Gen.  Dodge, 
marched  to  the  Wisconsin  river,  one  detachment  going  to 
Prairie  du  Chien,  the  other  to  English  Prairie,  now  Muscoda. 
They  scoured  both  sides  of  the  river  to  the  Portage,  driving 
the  Indians  before  them,  taking  one  prisoner,  a  lad  of  fifteen, 
who  had  become  separated  from  his  band,  and  was  surrounded. 
He  was  son  of  a  chief,  Winneshiek,  whose  name  he  bore. 
He  refused  to  surrender,  but  sat  on  his  horse,  with  cocked 
gun  in  hand.  The  soldiers  were  about  to  shoot  him  when 
Gen.  Dodge,  admiring  the  intrepidity  of  the  boy,  rode  up  and 
wrenched  his  gun  from  him,  and  saved  him  from  the  death  he 
defied. 

Upon  reaching  the  Portage  they  found  that  Red  Bird  and 
his  accomplices  in  murder  had  been  surrendered  to  Major 
Whistler.  Decorah,  in  presence  of  General  Dodge,  disclaimed 
unfriendliness  on  the  part  of  the  Winnebagoes  to  the  United 
States,  and  disavowed  connection  with  the  murders  that  had 
been  committed  on  the  Mississippi.  Terms  of  settlement 
were  arranged  by  Gen.  Atkinson,  whereupon  the  volunteers 
were  discharged  and  returned  to  their  homes. 

The  disturbance  over,  Henry  Dodge  immediately  engaged 
in  "  prospecting "  the  country  for  lead  mines,  and  on  the  3d  of 
November,  1827,  established  himself  near  the  present  village 


14  HENRY  DODGE. 

of  Dodgeville,  in  what  is  now  Iowa  County,  Wisconsin.  It 
was  the  happy  hunting  grounds  of  the  Winnebagoes,  a  land 
of  bubbling  brooks  and  crystal  springs,  of  beautiful  oak 
openings,  groves  of  larger  timber,  and  rolling  prairies,  with  a 
broad  ridge  separating  the  waters  that  flow  to  the  Wisconsin 
from  those  flowing  to  Rock  river.  It  was  in  that  part  of  the 
old  Northwest  Territory  (1787),  and  of  the  Illinois  Territory 
(1809),  lying  north  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  wrhich  had  been 
attached  to  the  Territory  of  Michigan  upon  the  admission  of 
the  State  of  Illinois  into  the  Union  (1818).  Some  "diggings" 
had  previously  been  worked  by  the  Indians,  \vho  excavated 
down  an  incline'd  plane,  carrying  in  wood  for  fuel,  heating  the 
rocks,  then  slacking  them  with  water;  charcoal  and  lime  were 
found  in  the  old  works,  as  also  buck-horns  which  had  been 
used  as  tools.  He  made  friendly  terms  with  the  Indians  of 
the  neighborhood,  and  gave  them  presents  as  in  the  way  of 
rent  for  occupying  their  lands.  He  made  a  home  for  his 
family,  and  took  precautions  for  their  protection  and  safety. 
More  than  a  hundred  miners  soon  gathered  to  the  "camp."  . 
The  neighborhood  resounded  with  the  stroke  of  the  ax  and 
the  click  of  tools-  Shafts  were  sunk  in  every  direction.  He 
•discovered  the  only  lode  in  the  region  that  proved  to  be  of 
much  value. 

It  was  not  long  before  complaints  were  made  to  the  United 
States  Indian  Agent,  at  Prairie  du  Chien,  Joseph  M.  Street, 
that  white  men  had  invaded  the  country  of  the  Winnebagoes. 
He  reported  the  matter  to  the  superintendent  of  Indian  affairs 
at  St.  Louis  (Gen.  William  Clark),  under  date  of  January 
1 5th,  1828,  as  follows: 

Gen.  Dodge  with  about  fifty  men,  well  armed  with  rifles  and  prepared  for 
any  event,  is  near  the  English  Prairie  on  a  northern  branch  of  Rock  river, 
called  Piketolika,  beyond  the  lands  subject  to  reservations  under  the  treaty  of 
August  24th,  1816.  My  information  is  that  the  Bear,  a  Wmnebago  chief,  with  • 
a  few  followers  are  at  the  place,  and  have  sold  the  privilege  to  Gen.  Dodge. 
Many  are  flocking  to  him  from  Fever  river,  and  he  permits  them  to  join  upon 
paying  certain  stipulated  portions  of  the  original  purchase.  The  ore  is  more 
abundant,  nearer  the  -surface,  and  obtained  with  greater  facility  than  ever 


HENRY  DODGE.  15 

> 

known  in  this  country.  It  is  said  that  he  has  i-aised  about  half  a  million  of 
mineral,  smelted  from  900  to  1000  bars,  and  is  smelting  fifty  bars  a  day.  With 
two  negro  men  in  one  place  he  raises  about  2000  pounds  per  day.  What  will 
be  the  effect  of  these  high-handed  measures  I  am  at  a  loss  to  say.  Should  the 
tribe  disapprove  of  the  bargain  of  the  Bear  with  Gen.  Dodge,  mischief  might 
ensue.  The  cupidity  of  the  Indians  may  also  be  awakened,  and  serious  diffi 
culties  thrown  in  the  way  of  any  contemplated  purchase  of  this  section  of  the 
country  by  our  Government.  Should  his  removal  as  a  precautionary  measure 
be  recommended,  I  have  no  force  adequate  to  the  accomplishment  of  the 
object,  and  from  a  conversation  with  the  commanding  officer  of  the  fort  here,1 
a  sufficient  number  could  not  be  prudently  detached  for  the  purpose. 

As  far  as  the  most  active  enquiries  and  acute  observation  enable  me  to  judge, 
the  Winnebagoes  are  quietly  pursuing  their  winter's  hunt. 

On  the  26th  of  January,  1828,  the  agent  wrote  that  there 
were  mutterings  of  discontent  among  the  Winnebagoes;  that 
upon  that  day  a  chief  (Carumna,  the  Lame)  had  said  to  him: 

We  promised  not  to  interrupt  the  white  people  at  the  Fever  river  mines. 
Then  they  were  digging  near  the  line:  now  a  large  camp  has  gone  far  into 
our  country,  and  are  taking  lead  where  it  is  easy  to  be  got,  and  where  Indians 
have  been  making  lead  many  years.  We  did  not  expect  this,  and  we  want  to 
know  \vhen  this  will  stop.  The  hills  are  covered  with  them;  more  are  coming 
and  shoving  us  off  our  lands  to  make  lead.  We  want  our  Father  to  stop  this 
before  blood  may  be  shed  by  bad  men.  You  tell  us  our  Great  Father  is  a 
great  chief,  and  has  warriors  like  the  sands  on  the  river  side,  and  that  the  Win 
nebagoes  ought  to  be  at  peace  with  him  and  his  people;  that  if  they  kill  his' 
white  children  he  will  go  to  war  with  them,  and  when  they  are  all  killed  by 
his  great  warriors  he  will  take  their  country.  It  would  be  better  with  the 
Winnebagoes  then,  than  to  live  and  see  white  men  corn,e  and  take  their  lands 
while  they  are  living." 

I  told  him  their  Great  Father  lived  a  long  way  off;  that  he  would  remove 
those  white  men  when  it  was  told  him,  if  they  kept  their  promise  and  remained 
at  peace.  He  said:  "Well;  they  would  keep  their  promise." 

The  same  day  the  agent  sent  John  Marsh,  a  sub-agent,  to 
notify  Gen.  Dodge  that  he  must  move  off  instantly,  or  he 
would  be  removed  by  military  force.  In  a  communication  of 
February  yth,  1828,  Mr.  Marsh  reported  as  follows: 

In  obedience  to  your  instructions  of  the  26th  ult.,  I  ascended  the  Wisconsin 
to  the  English  Prairie,  and  thence  southwardly  up  the  valley  of  a  small  river 
which  comes  in  at  that  place,  and  arrived  at  the  residence  of  Gen.  Dodge  on 
the  evening  of  the  fifth  day  after  my  departure.  Your  letter  to  Gen.  Dodge  I 
^delivered  immediately,  and  I  informed  him  and  others  who  were  located  in 
that  vicinity  that  I  had  a  communication  to  read  to  them  from  the  Indian  agent 

l  Major  John  Fowle,  5th  U.  S.  Infantry. 


16  HENRY  DODGE. 

at  Prairie  du  Chien.  The  next  morning  I  read  your  notice  to  all  the  principal 
miners.  Not  being  able  to  discover  any  indications  of  an  intention  to  remove 
out  of  the  Indian  country,  your  address  was  also  read  and  the  extracts  from 
the  treaty  therein  referred  to. 

Gen.  Dodge  addressed  the  people,  and  explained  to  them  his  views  of  the 
subject  He  insisted  principally  that  there  was  no  definite  line  of  demarcation 
between  the  lands  of  the  Winnebago  Indians  and  those  of  the  Chippeways, 
Pottawattamies  and  Ottaways  of  the  Illinois,  on  which  the  citizens  of  the 
United  States  had  a  right  to  dig  for  lead  ore, and  that  until  such  line  should  be 
definitely  marked  and  established  it  was  by  no  means  certain  that  the  place 
where  they  were  was  on  the  lands  of  the  Winnebagoes. 

The  remainder  of  the  day  was  spent  in  examining  the  country.  Ore  is 
found  in  great  abundance  near  the  surface,  and  in  large  masses.  Few  of  the 
excavations  are  more  than  ten  feet  deep.  The  whole  country  appears  to  be 
literally  full  of  lead  ore,  and  the  labor  of  obtaining  it  is  trifling.  Traces  of  old 
Indian  diggings  are  found  throughout  the  country  for  several  miles.  There 
are  also  furnaces  where  the  Indians  smelted  the  ore. 

Gen.  Dodge  resides  in  a  small  stockade  fort  near  the  principal  mine.  There 
are  about  twenty  log  houses  in  the  immediate  vicinity,  besides  several  more 
remote.  He  has  a  double  furnace  in  constant  operation,  and  a  large  quantity 
of  lead  in  bars  and  in  the  crude  state.  From  the  best  information  I  have  been 
able  to  obtain  there  are  about  one  hundred  and  thirty  men  engaged  in  mining 
at  this  place,  and  completely  armed  with  rifles  and  pistols.  I  was  also  informed 
that  there  about  fifteen  Winnebagoes  ten  or  twelve  miles  distant  who  fre 
quently  visit  the  mines,  and  who  have  been  presented  by  Gen.  Dodge  with 
several  hundred  dollars  worth  of  provisions  and  merchandise.  When  about  to 
return,  I  was  desired  by  Gen.  Dodge  to  inform  you  that  he  should  leave  the 
country  as  soon  as  he  conveniently  could. 1 

Immediately  upon  the  receipt  of  this  communication  Gen. 
Street  called  upon  the  commanding  officer  at  Fort  Crawford 
for  a  detachment  }f  one  hundred  and  eighty  troops  to  remove 
the  trespassers,  who  replied  that  as  he  had  only  147  men  in 

1  To  other  parties  Gen.  Dodge  is  reported  as  saying  that  he  would  leave  if 
Gen.  Street  had  more  guns  than  he  had.  The  same  year  Morgan  L.  Martin 
made  an  expedition  through  the  mining  region,  and  speaking  of  it  after  a  lapse 
of  fifty-nine  years  said:  "Our  first  objective  point  was  Dodgeville,  where 
Henry  Dodge  had  started  a  "diggings."  We  found  his  cabins  surrounded  by 
a  formidable  stockade,  and  the  miners  liberally  supplied  with  ammunition. 
The  Winnebagoes  had  threatened  to  oust  the  little  colony,  and  were  displaying 
an  uglv  disposition.  Dodge  entertained  vis  at  his  cabin,  the  walls  of  which 
were  well  covered  with  guns.  He  said  that  he  had  a  man  for  every  gun,  and 
would  not  leave  the  country  unless  the  Indians  were  stronger  than  he.''  WTis. 
His.  Coll.  xi.  397. 


HENRY  DODGE.  17 

his  command,  and  but  130  of  them  were  fit  for  duty,  it  would 
be  out  of  his  power  to  comply  with  the  request.  Arrange 
ments  were  soon  in  progress  by  the  Government  for  the  pur 
chase  of  the  lands  of  the  Winnebagoes.  Provisional  articles 
of  agreement  were  made  by  Gov.  Cass  and  Pierre  Menard, 
commissioners  on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  with  chiefs  of 
the  Winnebago  tribe,  at  Green.  Bay,  August  25th,  1828.  In 
prospect  of  those  arrangements  Henry  Dodge  held  his  ground, 
and  was  unmolested.  He  had  built  the  first  smelting  furnace 
erected  by  the  whites  north  of  the  Illinois  state-line.  He  was 
present  at  Prairie  du  Chien,  with  Henry  Gratipt,  Antoine 
Le  Claire,  Zachary  Taylor,  and  other  witnesses  to  the  treaty, 
under  which  the  Winnebagoes  sold  their  lands  in  the  mining 
district  to  the  United  States,  August  ist,  1829. 

From  Helena  on  the  Wisconsin  river,  he  shipped  lead  on 
flat-bottomed  boats  to  New  Orleans.  Others  reshipped  on 
steamers  at  St.  Louis;  he  was  the  only  one  who  made  the 
entire  voyage  without  transfer.  The  trip  took  three  months 
and  a  half,  and  involved  peril  and  hardship. 

In  the  first  settlement  of  the  mining  country,  those  who  ob 
tained  permits  to  mine  were  not  allowed  to  cultivate  the  soil, 
so  that  for  several  years  provisions  were  scarce,  and  the  ex 
pense  of  living  was  great.  When  the  lands  were  brought 
into  market,  he  became  the  purchaser  of  more  than  a  thousand 
acres,  and  here  -was  his  home  for  nearly  forty  years.  He 
took  part  in  a  patriotic  celebration  of  the  4th  of  July,  and 
served  as  President  of  the  Day,  in  1829,  at  Mineral  Point, 
where  a  discovery  of  copper  had  awakened  an  excitement 
and  called  many  miners  to  the  place.  Upon  the  organi 
zation  of  Iowa  county,  the  same  year,  under  an  act  of  the 
Legislative  Council  of  Michigan  Territory,  setting  off  that 
part  of  Crawford  county  lying  south  of  Wisconsin  river,  he 
was  elected  chief  justice  of  the  county,  with  Wm.  S.  Hamil 
ton  and  James  H.  Gentry,  associate  justices,  and  held  the  first 
court  in  that  county. 

The  growth  of  the   mining  settlements,  and  their  distance 


1 8  1 1  I:\RY  DODGE. 

from  the  seat  of  Government  at  Detroit,  the  irregular  routes 
of  travel  then  pursued  making  it  from  800  to  1000  miles,  as 
stated  by  Gen.  Dodge,  created  a  demand  for  a  new  territorial 
organization.  The  business  relations  of  the  miners  were  with 
Illinois  and  Missouri  and  the  General  Government,  not  with 
the  peninsula  of  Michigan;  nor  was  it  to  be  expected  that  a 
delegate  elected  from  the  peninsula  should  understand  the 
wants  of  a  people  so  remote  and  detached  as  they  were.  He 
opened  a  correspondence  upon  the  subject  with  the  delegate 
to  Congress  (Austin  E.  Wing),  and  laid  before  him  a  state 
ment  of  the  inconveniences  and  hardships  under  which  the 
people  were  laboring,  and  their  claims  on  the  National  Legis 
lature  for  the  division  of  the  Territory.  Under  date  of  Dodge- 
ville,  February  loth,  1829,  he  said: 

Laws  should  be  made  to  suit  the  condition  of  the  people  over  whom  they 
are  to  operate;  hence  the  necessity  of  a  local  legislation  following  a  division  of 
the  Territory.  Another  strong  reason  why  we  should  be  separated  from  the 
Territory  of  Michigan  is:  We  are  surrounded  by  Indians,  some  friendly, 
others  still  hostile  to  the  extension  of  the  American  empire  and  to  the  people 
of  this  country.  A  local  legislature  and  a  separate  government  here  would 
place  the  people  in  a  situation  to  defend  themselves,  and  have  the  aid  of  the 
constituted  authorities  near  them.  It  would  be  almost  impossible  to  receive 
aid  from  the  peninsula  of  Michigan.  Mounted  companies  of  riflemen  would 
be  the  best  arm  of  defence  to  afford  this  country  protection.  Recent  events  at 
Rock  Island  prove  the  secret  influence  that  exists  over  the  minds  of  the 
Indians;1  and  I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  so  long  as  that  influence 
exists  we  will  have  occasional  difficulties  with  the  Indians  of  our  borders.2 

A  bill  was  reported  in  Congress,  January  6th,  1830,  to 
establish  the  Territory  of  Huron,  with  boundaries  embracing 
what  now  constitutes  the  states  of  Wisconsin,  Iowa,  Minne 
sota,  a  part  of  the  Territory  of  Dakota,  and  the  upper  penin 
sula  of  Michigan,  but  it  did  not  become  a  law.  A  somewhat 
similar  bill  passed  the  House  of  Representatives  in  1831,  but 
not  the  Senate.3 

1  "The  secret  influence"  came  of  the  communication  which  the  "British  band" 
of  the  Sacs,  who  were  in  arms  against  the  United   States  in  the  war  of  1812, 
still  kept  up  with  Canada.     Their  chiefs  were  in  the  habit  of  visiting  Canada, 
and  were  laden  with  presents  on  their  return. 

2  His.  of  Wisconsin,  by  W.  R.  Smith,  i,  430-432. 

3  History  of  Wisconsin  Territory,  by  Moses  M.  Strong,  p.  187. 


HENRY  DODGE.  19 

On  the  nth  of  July,  1831,  Henry  Dodge  was  elected  to  the 
Fifth  Legislative  Council  of  Michigan  Territory  from  the 
counties  of  Michilmacinac,  Brown,  Crawford,  Chippewa  and 
Iowa.  His  views  of  public  duty  at  the  time  were  given  in  a 
letter  addressed  to  the  electors. 

JULY  8th,  1831. 

My  name  being  before  the  public  as  one  of  those  who  have  been  nominated 
by  a  meeting  of  citizens  at  Green  Bay  as  well  as  at  Mineral  Point  to  represent 
the  people  of  the  Seventh  Electoral  District  in  the  Legislative  Council  of  the 
Territory,  I  consider  it  a  duty  I  owe  the  electors  as  well  as  myself  to  state 
explicitly  my  views  in  relation  to  such  measures  as  have  for  their  object  the 
public  good,  and  the  course  I  will  pursue  if  honored  with  the  confidence  of  my 
fellow  citizens. 

The  wants  and  condition  of  the  people  west  of  Lake  Michigan  in  my  opinion 
require  a  speedy  division  of  the  Territory  and  the  establishment  of  a  local 
legislature.  Laws  then  can  be  made  suited  to  the  manners,  habits,  and  con 
dition  of  the  people  residing  within  the  limits  of  the  contemplated  territory 
The  relation  we  stand  to  the  General  Government  makes  it  important  to  us 
that  we  should  have  a  direct  representation  at  Washington.  Living  on  the 
United  Stands  lands  and  working  their  lead  mines,  it  becomes  a  matter  of  much 
interest  to  the  people  of  the  mining  country  that  the  rights  of  pre-emption 
should  be  secured  to  them  on  the  most  liberal  principles  both  for  the  farms 
they  occupy  as  well  as  their  mineral  grounds. 

The  General  Government  by  its  own  act  has  invited  the  people  of  the  min 
ing  country  to  immigrate  to  this  country  for  the  express  purpose  of  making 
lead.  They  are  neither  squatters  nor  intruders  on  the  public  lands.  By  their 
enterprise  and  industry  they  have  fully  realized  the  views  of  the  Government. 
The  people  of  the  United  States  have  had  an  abundant  supply  of  lead  made, 
and  sold  to  them  cheaper  than  the  manufacturer  here  could  afford  to  make  it. 
The  people  of  the  mining  country  have  paid  a  greater  tax,  and  that  directly 
upon  the  labor  of  the  whole  community,  than  any  equal  number  of  citizens  of 
the  United  States,  and  consequently  have  stronger  claims  upon  the  justice  and 
liberality  of  the  Government  than  any  equal  number  of  citizens  who  have 
settled  on  the  frontiers. 

Should  I  be  the  choice  of  the  electors,  on  all  local  subjects  the  expressed 
wishes  of  a  majority  of  the  people  will  govern  me.  I  consider  the  representa 
tive  bound  in  his  individual  capacity  to  do  what  the  people  would  do  in  their 
collective  capacity,  could  they  be  present. 

Mr.  Martin  has  been  recommended  to  the  people  of  this  electoral  district  for 
the  Council.  He  has  the  reputation  of  being  a  young  man  of  talents  and  in 
tegrity.1  It  appears  desirable  to  insure  success  in  our  election  that  we  should 

1  Hon.  Morgan  Lewis  Martin,  of  Green  Bay;  he  died  Dec.  10,  1887.  To  his 
efforts  Iowa  owes  the  organization  of  the  original  counties  of  Des  Moines  and 
Dubuque,  under  an  act  of  the  Legislative  Council  of  Michigan  Territory  to 


2O  HENRY  DODGE. 

cordially  unite  with  Brown  county.  Mr.  Wing  is  before  the  people  as  a  candi 
date  for  the  Delegacy  to  Congress.  The  course  he  pursued  when  in  Congress, 
in  advocating  a  division  of  the  Territory,  was  such  as  the  condition  of  the 
people  required.  As  he  truly  represented  our  interests  on  a  former  occasion,  it 
would  seem  we  might  safely  trust  him  again. 

1  have  Seen  thus  explicit  that  my  fellow-citizens  may  know  my  views  on 
all  subjects  which  I  consider  of  interest  to  them,  not  with  a  view  to  influence 
them  in  anv  wav;  it  is  the  right  of  every  freeman  to  judge  and  act  for  himself; 
whatever  that  decision  may  be  as  it  respects  myself,  I  shall  cheerf ully  acquiesce 
in. 

The  next  winter,  in  behalf  of  the  people  of  the  mining 
region  he  prepared  a  memorial  addressed  to  Hon.  Lewis 
Cass,  Secretary  of  War,  as  follows: 

The  undersigned  residents  of  that  part  of  the  Territory  of  Michigan  in 
cluding  the  lead  mine  district  on  the  Upper  Mississippi  respectfully  ask  leave 
to  call  your  attention  to  the  situation  and  conditions  of  the  citizens  occupying 
the  mineral  region. 

In  conformity  to  an  act  of  Congress  passed  in  1807,  the  president  of  the 
United  States  from  time  to  time  has  appointed  agents  invested  with  ample 
powers  to  lease  the  United  States  lead  mines.  The  government  of  the  mines 
having  been  confided  to  the  War  Department,  and  the  rents  accruing  to  the 
United  States  from  working  these  mines  having  been  regulated  by  that  depart 
ment,  is  the  reason  why  your  memorialists  ask  leave  to  call  your  attention  to 
this  subject. 

Your  immediate  predecessor  in  office  having  reduced  the  rents  of  the 
United  States  mines  from  10  to  6  per  cent,  we  take  it  for  granted  that  power 

lay  off  and  organize  counties  west  of  the  Mississippi  river,  approved  Septem 
ber  6th,  1834.  In  a  letter  to  A.  C.  Dodge,  of  May  25th,  1883,  he  recalled  "the 
rude  log  cabin  in  Dodgeville  where  Hon.  Lucius  Lyon  and  myself  were  hos 
pitably  entertained,  in  1828  by  your  excellent  parents.  It  seems  like  a  dream. 
I  recognize  the  portly  Roman,  the  saintly  wife,  the  stalwart  lads  and  modest 
daughters,  comprising  the  household,  protected  in  their  well-armed  fortress 
(block  house)  from  the  dangers  incident  to  frontier  life;  and  from  that  early 
period  note  the  wonderful  metamorphosis  which  time  has  wrought  in  the  West. 
I  recall  also  the  erect  figure  and  proud  bearing  of  your  father  when  he  volun 
teered  to  guide  us  on  horseback  to  the  recent  discoveries  of  copper  ore  at 
Mineral  Point,  and  to  the  pits  and  shafts  in  the  vicinity  of  Dodgeville,  from 
which  his  supply  of  lead  ore  was  hauled  to  his  furnaces,  the  athletic  figures 
of  your  brother  and  yourself,  youths  of  some  fifteen  or  eighteen,  laboring 
about  the  smelting  works  with  others  engaged  around  the  premises.  Nor  can 
I  forget  the  appearances  of  the  negro  slaves,  who  clung  to  your  father's  family 
even  after  they  were  given  freedom,  as  dutiful  children  dependent  for  protection 
and  daily  wants  upon  a  parent." — Semi- Centennial  of  Iou>ay  at  Burlington, 
PP.  87,  88. 


HENRY  DODGE.  21 

was  properly  exercised;  and,  inasmuch  as  he  held  himself  at  liberty  to  raise 
the  rents  by  giving  three  months'  notice,  we  ask  your  indulgence  while  we 
briefly  state  the  past  and  present  condition  of  the  mining  population. 

The  relation  in  which  you  stood  as  the  executive  of  this  Territory  at  the  time 
his  mining  country  was  settled,  as  well  as  the  appointment  you  held  with  Col. 
Menard  as  joint  Commissioners  on  the  part  of  the  United  States  for  treaty  with 
the  Winnebago  and  other  tribes  of  Indians,  gives  you  a  general  knowledge  of 
the  condition  in  which  the  people  settled  here.  It  is  well  known  that  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  invited  the  people  to  this  country  through 
their  agents  at  a  time  when  they  had  no  troops  on  this  frontier  to  afford  them 
protection.  In  1827,  when  the  Indians  commenced  hostilities,  the  inhabitants 
being  wholly  dependent  on  themselves  for  protection  abandoned  their  mining 
operations,  and  prepared  themselves  to  resist  the  Winnebago  Indians  who 
were  located  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  mines,  and  who  were  actually  at 
war.  The  loss  of  one  season  from  working  the  mines,  and  the  expenses  in 
curred  by  the  people  during  the  winter  of  1827-8,  left  them  without  the  means 
of  returning  whence  they  had  emigrated.  In  this  situation  they  settled  that 
portion  of  the  mining  country  which  they  now  occupy.  In  June,  1828,  the 
Superintendent  of  the  United  States  lead  mines  located  that  portion  of  country 
at  that  time  occupied  by  your  memorialists,  and  from  that  period  until  the  ex 
tinguishment  of  the  Indian  title  at  Prairie  du  Chien,  in  1829,  a  period  of  nearly 
fourteen  months,  and  before  the  Government  acquired  a  right  from  the  Indians 
for  the  country,  the  people  of  the  mining  country  paid  upwards  of  a  million 
pounds  of  rent  lead.  It  is  believed  that  no  tax  was  ever  more  punctually  and 
cheerfully  paid  by  smelters  to  the  Government.  During  the  administration 
of  the  present  Superintendent — two  and  a  half  years — more  tax  lead  has  been 
collected,  including  arrearages,  than  the  actual  rents  amounted  to  for  that  period. 
Your  memorialists  state  with  confidence  that  they  have  paid  a  greater  amount 
of  taxes,  and  that  a  direct  tax  on  the  labor  of  the  whole  community,  than  any 
equal  number  of  citizens  since  the  settlement  of  America;  that  from  1827  until 
1829  the  smelters  not  only  paid  ten  per  cent  on  all  lead  manufactured,  but 
hauled  the  rent-lead  a  distance  from  forty  to  sixty  miles  to  the  United  States 
deposit,  at  a  time  when  lead  was  not  selling  for  more  than  one  dollar  and  fifty 
cents  at  the  United  States  lead  mines.  What  was  the  consequence  ?  The 
entire  ruin  of  many  of  the  manufacturers.  The  Government  of  the  United 
States  received  between  three  and  four  millions  of  pounds  of  rent-lead,  and 
the  people  of  the  United  States  an  abundant  supply  of  the  article  of  lead  upon 
cheaper  terms  than  at  any  preceding  period.  The  low  and  depressed  price  of 
lead  was  the  principal  cause,  no  doubt,  that  your  predecessor  reduced  the  rents 
of  the  mines,  and  as  the  Government  has  derived  all  the  advantages  that  could 
have  been  anticipated  in  a  national  point  of  view  from  the  exploration  and 
working  their  mines,  and  as  the  manufacturers  and  miners  have  not  had  time 
to  realize  the  advantages  resulting  from  a  reaction  in  the  price  of  lead,  your 
memorialists  confidently  rely  on  your  justice  and  the  liberality  of  the  Govern 
ment,  that  they  will  foster  and  protect  their  own  manufacturers  of  lead,  to  the 
exclusion  of  those  of  foreign  powers;  and  as  lead  is  a  necessary  article  in  time 
of  war,  we  trust  you  will  carefully  examine  the  subject  in  all  its  bearings  before 


22         *  HENRY  DODGE. 

you  increase  the  rent  of  the  lead  mines,  and  that  you  will  urge  upon  Congress 
the  justice  and  propriety  of  not  changing  the  present  tariff  on  lead. 

Your  memorialists  ask  leave  to  call  your  attention  to  a  subject  of  great 
interest  and  vital  importance  to  them.  Should  the  Government  pass  a  law  for 
tiie  survey  and  sale  of  the  United  States  lead  mines  of  this  country  upon  the 
same  principles  observed  in  the  sale  of  their  mines  in  Missouri,  we  earnestly 
hope  vou  will  recommend  to  the  consideration  of  Congress  the  justice  and 
propriety  of  granting  to  each  miner  who  has  complied  with  the  regulations 
made  for  the  government  of  the  mines  the  privilege  of  working  out  all  dis 
coveries  made  on  mineral  lots  or  surveys.  To  sell  the  mines  without  making 
this  reservation  would  deprive  the  most  enterprising  and  industrious  part  of 
the  population  of  their  all.  Miners  who  have  had  mineral  lands  in  their  pos 
session  for  years  might  have  them  purchased  by  speculators,  and  be  left  with 
out  resource  or  means,  from  not  having  had  time  to  compensate  themselves  for 
the  low  prices  of  mineral,  which  sold  in  this  mining  country  for  two  years  from 
five  to  eight  dollars  per  thousand  pounds. 

Your  memorialists  consider  it  fortunate  for  them  that  you  are  placed  at  the 
head  of  the  War  Department  of  the  Government,  knowing  that  you  are  in 
timately  acquainted  with  all  the  circumstances  attending  the  settlement  of  the 
mining  country,  surrounded  as  they  have  been  by  Indians  secretly  hostile  to 
the  American  people  as  well  as  under  the  influence  of  the  English;  and  the 
friendly  regard  you  evinced  for  the  protection  and  safety  of  the  citizens  of  this 
mining  region  in  1828  is  remembered  with  gratitude.  Your  memorialists  con 
fidently  believe  you  will  render  them  all  the  aid  in  your  power  consistent  with 
the  relation  you  stand  to  the  government. 

To  further  the  objects  of  this  memorial,  he  also  addressed 
letters  to  a  number  of  members  of  Congress  of  like  tenor 
with  the  following: 

DODGEVILLE,  MICHIGAN  TERRITORY,  January  26th,  1832. 
Hon.  Elias  K.  Kane, 

United  States  Senator  from  Illinois, 
Washington   City  : 

The  interest  you  have  heretofore  taken  in  this  remote  part  of  the  Territory 
of  Michigan,  as  well  as  the  particular  situation  of  this  countrv,  is  the  reason  I 
take  the  liberty  of  addressing  ypu  at  this  time. 

The  people  of  the  mining  country  require  the  fostering  protection  of  the 
General  Government.  They  have  not  had  time  since  the  favorable  reaction  of 
the  price  of  lead  to  compensate  themselves  for  their  losses.  A  reduction  of  the 
present  tariff  on  the  importation  of  foreign  lead  would  completely  destroy  the 
prospects  of  the  manufacture  of  lead  in  this  country.  Great  as  the  diversitv 
of  opinions  appears  to  be  on  the  tariff,  it  would  seem  that  as  lead  is  a  necessary 
and  important  article  in  peace  and  in  war  the  National  Legislature  should 
examine  the  subject  in  all  its  bearings  before  thev  change  the  tariff  on  lead. 

The  people  of  this  remote  region  are  greatly  interested  in  a  division  of  the 
Territory  during  this  session  of  Congress.  Our  relations  being  entirely  with 


HENRY  DODGE.  23 

the  General  Government,  and  the  great  distance  we  are  from  the  seat  of  Terri 
torial  Legislature,  place  the  inhabitants  here  in  a  most  unpleasant  situation.  We 
have  two  Councillors  elected  from  five  counties.  The  distance  we  are  from 
Detroit,  and  having  but  two  representatives  out  of  thirteen  which  forms  the 
Council,  makes  the  representation  west  of  Lake  Michigan  merely  nominal. 
The  rapid  growth  of  the  peninsula  of  Michigan,  and  the  interest  the  people 
have  in  becoming  a  state  as  early  as  possible,  would  give  us  but  a  feeble 
voice  in  the  Council ;  and  however  talented  and  zealous  the  Delegate  from 
Michigan  may  be  in  representing  truly  the  condition  of  the  people  here, 
it  is  impossible  from  the  distance  he  resides  from  us  that  he  can  understand 
well  the  condition  of  this  country.  We  want  a  local  Legislature  here,  where 
laws  can  be  enacted  suited  to  the  condition  of  the  people.  Laws  are  enacted 
six  months  before  they  reach  us,  and  laws  enacted  for  the  peninsula  of  Michi 
gan  do  not  suit  our  condition. 

Another  strong  reason  why  we  should  be  severed  from  Michigan  is,  we  are 
surrounded  by  Indians,  some  friendly,  others  secretly  unfriendly  to  the  Ameri 
can  people  and  jealous  of  the  growth  of  the  country.  Should  they  attack  us., 
we  could  derive  no  advantage  from  the  constituted  authorities  of  Michigan, 
but  would  have  to  depend  on  ourselves  for  protection.  It  is  true  the  United 
States  have  troops  on  our  borders,  but  we  might  be  taken  by  surprise,  and  the 
settlements  entirely  destroyed  before  they  could  give  us  aid.  We  want  the 
constituted  authorities  near  us,  and  a  proper  force  of  mounted  riflemen  or  gun 
men,  who  could  be  brought  together  at  the  shortest  notice.  This  country  is 
well  adapted  to  the  horse  service,  and  they  are  able'  to  act  promptly  and 
efficiently.  We  are  one  of  the  most  exposed  frontiers  of  the  United  States 
and  should  be  entitled  to  those  rights  and  privileges  which  have  been  extended 
to  others  on  the  frontier. 

The  particular  condition  of  the  people  .of  this  detached  territory  of  the  United 
States  must  make  my  apology  for  the  length  of  this  communication. 
I  am,  dear  sir,  with  sentiments  of  the  greatest  regard, 

Sincerely  and  truly  your  friend, 

H.  DODGE. 


NOTE. — Lyman  C.  Draper,  L.L.D.,  of  Madison,  Wisconsin, 
has  kindly  furnished  the  following  additional  information  as  to 
the  campaign  of  General  Dodge  up  the  Missouri  river  in  1814, 
from  personal  reminiscences  given  to  him  by  General  Dodge 

in  1855: 

There  had  been  considerable  mischief  done  by  the  Indians  at  the  Boone's 
Lick  settlement,  where,  among  others,  a  man  who  was  a  potter  by  trade  had 
been  killed ;  and  being  the  only  person  of  that  trade  in  the  region  his  loss  was 
seriously  felt.  The  settlement  was  too  weak  to  strike  any  effectual  blow  in 
turn.  General  Dodge,  then  of  St.  Genevieve,  who  had  been  appointed  by 
President  Madison  the  successor  of  Gen.  William  Clark  in  command  of  the 
militia,  when  the  latter  was  made  Governor  of  Missouri  Territory,  waived  his 


24  HENRY  DODGE. 

rank  as  General,  and  took  the  command  as  Lieut.  Colonel  of  mounted  men, 
under  orders  of  Brigadier  General  Benjamin  Howard,  U.  S.  Army,  to  march 
to  the  relief  of  the  Boone's  Lick  settlement,  in  September,  1814. 

The  command  consisted  of  350  mounted  men,  under  Capt.  John  W.  Thomp 
son,  of  St.  Louis,  Capt.  Isaac  Van  Bibber,  of  Loutre  Lick,  Capt.  Henry  Poston, 
of  the  Missouri  Mining  Region,  Sarshall  Cooper,  of  the  Boone's  Lick  settle 
ment,  and  Capt.  Daughertv,  of  Cape  Girardeau.  Nathaniel  Cook  (now,  1855, 
aged  and  blind,  of  Potosi,  Mo.)  and  Daniel  M.  Boone  were  the  Majors;  and 
Ben.  Cooper,  of  the  Boone's  Lick  settlement,  a  veteran  of  the  Indian  wars  of 
Kentucky,  was  along;  and  Gen.  Dodge,  having  some  blank  commissions  with 
him,  appointed  him  a  Major,  wishing  him  to  serve  on  account  of  his  experience. 
He  was  an  elder  brother  of  Capt.  Sarshall  Cooper.  David  Barton,  afterwards 
the  celebrated  U.  S.  Senator  of  Missouri,  was  a  volunteer  in  Thompson's 
companv,  refusing  anv  rank,  only  tendering  Gen.  Dodge  any  services  he  might 
render  in  the  way  of  aiding  him  in  writing. 

There  were  also  about  fortv  friendly  Shawanoes  along,  under  four  war 
captains, — Na-kour-me,  Kish-Kal-le-wa,  Pap-pi-qua,  Wa-pe-pil-le-se,  the  two 
latter  were  fullv  seventy  years  old,  and  had  both  served  in  the  early  Indian 
wars  against  Kentucky. 

This  force  crossed  the  Missouri  from  the  northern  to  the  southern  bank  at 
the  Arrow  Rock  by  swimming  the  stream.  Gen.  Dodge  selected  six  of  his 
most  active  men,  good  swimmers  on  horseback,  for  the  advance;  the  others 
followed,  flanked  by  canoes,  and  in  the  rear  by  canoes,  as  a  vanguard  above 
and  below  the  main  body,  stemming  the  swift  current.  When  about  half  way 
over  they  struck  the.  strong  eddy,  which  soon  wafted  them  to  the  southern 
bank  in  safety.  Two  hours  were  consumed  in  crossing  the  river  with  the 
horses,  baggage,  etc. 

The  friendly  Shawanoes  found  and  reported  the  locality  of  the  hostile 
Miamis,  who  had  thrown  up  a  small  fort.  Dodge's  men  pushed  forward 
several  miles  up  the  river,  and  in  the  night  neared  the  enemy  in  what  is  now- 
known  as  the  Miami  Bend,  in  Saline  County,  and  soon  surrounded  them. 
Ascertaining  this  fact,  the  Miamis,  knowing  it  would  be  folly  to  resist  such 
odds,  proposed,  through  the  Shawanoes,  to  surrender  themselves  as  prisoners. 
Gen.  Dodge  called  a  council  of  his  officers,  and  asked  their  advice,  commenc 
ing  with  the  Coopers  and  other  Boone's  Lick  officers.  They  all  advised  re 
ceiving  them  as  prisoners,  and  that  their  lives  must  be  sacredly  preserved. 
Gen.  Dodge  lold  the  officers  that  he  should  hold  them  personally  responsible 
for  their  own  conduct  and  that  of  their  men  in  this  particular. 

The  Indians  now  formally  surrendered,  31  warriors,  and  122  women  and 
children,  153  in  all. 

The  next  morning,  while  Capt.  Cooper  and  others  were  scouring  around  in 
search  of  hidden  property,  the  Captain  found  the  well  known  rifle  of  the  poor 
potter  slain  in  the  Boone's  Lick  region;  and  in  rage  he  came  galloping  to  Gen. 
Dodge,  and  demanded  the  surrender  of  the  Indian  who  had  murdered  the 
potter,  to  make  an  example  of  him.  Gen.  Dodge  peremptorily  declined,  when 
Cooper  threatened  in  behalf  of  his  companv,  who  were  dashing  up  on  their 
horses,  to  kill  the  whole  of  the  Indians;  and  his  men  as  by  common  consent 


HENRY  DODGE.  25 

cocked  their  rifles  in  shooting  attitude.  The  Indian  warriors  seeing  the 
threatening  aspect  threw  themselves  upon  their  knees,  and,  crossing  their 
breasts  rapidly  and  repeatedly,  uttered  earnest  prayers  to  the  Great  Spirit,  or 
rather  to  the  sun,  then  just  rising  in  its  morning  splendor.  Gen.  Dodge, 
hearing  the  clicking  of  the  locks  of  the  rifles  of  the  Boone's  Lick  men,  and 
fearing  the  consequences,  but  without  ever  turning  towards  them,  drew  his 
sword,  and  thrust  its  point  within  six  inches  of  Capt.  Cooper's  breast,  and, 
reminding  him  of  his  pledge  to  protect  the  Indians  in  their  surrender,  said  that 
he  would  never  consent  to  their  being  slaughtered  in  cold  blood,  and  that  if 
Cooper's  men  fired  on  them  Capt.  Cooper  himself  should  instantly  suffer  the 
consequences. 

At  this  critical  moment,  Major  Daniel  M.  Boone  came  dashing  up  to  Gen. 
Dodge's  side,  and  said  that  he  would  stand  by  him  to  the  last;  and  he  taunted 
Cooper  with  the  treachery  of  the  act  he  proposed.  Dodge  was  firm,  never 
taking  his  eye  from  Cooper's.  Boone  presented  a  determined  countenance,  as 
brave  men  always  do  when  actuated  by  noble  purposes.  At  length  Cooper 
yielded,  and  Dodge  ordered  him  to  take  his  place  in  the  line,  and  march  away. 
He  doggedlv  obeved,  and  his  men  rode  by.  The  Indians  now  jumped  to  their 
feet  with  expressions  of  joy  and  gratitude  to  Dodge  and  Boone.  The 
Shawanoes,  too,  were  much  gratified  that  the  Miamis  were  spared. 

Kish-Ka-le-wa  visited  Gen.  Dodge  at  Fort  Leaven  worth,  in  1835,  and 
recognized  his  old  commander. 

Gen.  Dodge  looks  back  upon  his  conduct  in  saving  these  prisoners  as  one  of 
the  happiest  acts  of  his  life. 


II. 

IN  THE  BLACK  HAWK  WAR,  1832.' 

The  Black  Hawk  War  was  the  immediate  occasion  of  the 
opening  of  Iowa  to  civilization  in  1833.  Had  Black  Hawk  been 
content  to  have  staid  in  peace  upon  his  lands  west  of  the  Missis 
sippi,  he  would  not  have  been  disturbed  there,  at  least  for  a  num 
ber  of  years;  probably  not  during  his  life-time.  It  was  his  inva 
sion  of  Illinois  that  cost  him  Iowa,  as  often  in  grasping  another's 
men  lose  their  own.  That  war  also  hastened  the  settlement  of 
Northern  Illinois,  which  it  was  intended  to  prevent,  and  also  the 
settlement  of  what  is  now  Southern  Wisconsin,  as  it  led  immedi- 

i  Of  the  many  accounts  of  the  Black  Hawk  war,  the  most  clear  and  relia 
ble  are  bv  John  A.  Wakefield  and  Albert  Sidney  Johnston.  The  copy  of  the 
History  of  the  Black  Hawk  War  by  Wakefield  in  the  Library  of  the  State  His 
torical  Society  of  Wisconsin  was  presented  by  the  author  to  James  G.  Edwards, 
the  founder  of  the  Burlington  Hawk-Eye.  Chapter  III  of  the  Life  of  General 
Johnston  contains  valuable  portions  of  the  journals  he  kept  at  this  time. 


26  HENRY  DODGE. 

ately  to  treaties  with  the  Winnebagoes  and  Pottawattamies, 
under  which  those  tribes  agreed  to  leave  the  lands  they  had 
long  possessed  lying  between  Lake  Michigan  and  the  Missis 
sippi  river.  The  fact  that  some  of  those  Indians  had  sympa 
thized  with  Black  Hawk,  and  had  fought  under  him,  intensified 
the  demand  that  those  tribes  should  be  removed.  It  is  thus  a 
historic  fact  that  the  founding  of  the  states  of  Wisconsin  and 
Iowa,  and  of  the  city  of  Chicago,  would  have  been  delayed 
an  uncertain  number  of  years,  but  for  the  Black  Hawk  war. 

Conspicuous  among  those  who  were  most  efficient  in  secur 
ing  these  results  was  Henry  Dodge.  He  was  entitled  to  the 
honor  assigned  him  in  his  life  time,  as  a  "captain  of  aggressive 
civilization."  It  is  the  object  of  this  paper  to  give  a  narrative 
of  his  part  in  that  war. 

In  April,  1832,  information  reached  the  mines  that  Black 
Hawk  had  crossed  the  Mississippi  into  the  State  of  Illinois,  in 
violation  of  stipulations  made  with  him  by  Gen.  Gaines  on  the 
3Oth  of  June,  1831,  and  that  he  was  upon  the  warpath.  There 
were  fears  and  rumors  that  the  Winnebagoes  of  Rock  River 
and  the  Pottawattamies  of  the  country  about  the  head  waters 
of  Illinois  River  and  about  Chicago,  would  join  him.  Henry 
Dodge  at  once  called  the  miners  together  at  Mineral  Point. 
They  deemed  it  prudent  to  send  a  messenger  to  Rock  River, 
for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  the  situation,  and  to  learn  the 
strength  and  purposes  of  Black  Hawk.  Daniel  Morgan 
Parkinson,  who  came  to  the  mines  in  1827,  and  was  one  of 
the  first  settlers  at  Mineral  Point,  was  chosen  for  the  service. 
He  took  dispatches  from  Henry  Dodge  to  Henry  Gratiot,  the 
U.  S.  sub-Indian  Agent  for  the  Winnebagoes,  and  to  John 
Dixon,  who  was  a  friend  of  the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  at  Dixon's 
Ferry.  On  this  errand  Mr.  Parkinson  learned  that  Black 
Hawk  came  to  the  Prophet's  village  on  the  28th  of  April 
with  his  warriors  in  battle  array,  and  marched  to  Mr.  Gratiot's 
lodge,  where  the  neutral  flag  was  flying,  and  took  it  down 
and  hoisted  the  British  colors,  and  treated  Mr.  Gratiot  as  a 
prisoner,  until  he  was  ransomed  by  his  clerk,  George  Cub- 


HENRY  DODGE.  27 

bage,1  or  Black  Hawk  was  propitiated,  with  ten  plugs  of 
tobacco;  and  that  in  reply  to  a  "talk"  sent  by  Gen.  Atkinson, 
advising  the  hostile  chiefs,  to  recross  the  Mississippi,  to  settle 
down  in  peace,  and  plant  their  corn,  and  warning  them  if  they 
refused  that  his  troops  would  sweep  over  them  like  fire  over 
the  prairies,  Black^Hawk  sent  word  that  their  hearts  were  bad, 
that  they  would  not  return,  that  Gen.  Atkinson  would  find  the 
grass  green  and  not  easily  burnt,  and  that  they  would  fight, 
if  he  sent  his  warriors  among  them.  Black  Hawk's  force 
was  estimated  at  about  five  hundred,  subsequently  increased  by 
Winnebago  and  other  Indians  to  about  eight  hundred  warriors. 
Meanwhile,  Gen.  Atkinson,  on  the  25th  of  April,  had 
directed  Colonel  Dodge,  as  commanding  the  militia  of  Iowa 
County,  Michigan  Territory,  to  raise  as  many  mounted  men 
as  could  be  obtained  in  that  County.  The  first  company  was 
mustered  into  service  on  the  2d  day  of  May,  William  Schuyler 
Hamilton,  Captain,  who  had  been  with  Henry  Dodge  in  the 
Winnebago  disturbance  of  1827.  While  other  companies  were 
being  organized,  the  following  letter  was  sent  to  the  Governor 
of  Illinois,  who  was  then  at  Dixon's  -Ferry  with  a  thousand 
volunteers  from  that  State: 

MINERAL  POINT,  May  8,  1832. 
His  Excellency   John  Reynolds: 

DEAR  SIR. — The  exposed  situation  of  the  settlements  of  the  mining  district 
to  the  attack  of  the  Indian  enemy  makes  it  a  matter  of  deep  and  vital  interest 
to  us  that  we  should  be  apprised  of  the  movements  of  the  mounted  men  under 
your  Excellency's  immediate  command.  Black  Hawk  and  his  band,  it  is  stated 
by  the  last  advices  we  have  had  on  this  subject,  was  to  locate  himself  about 
twenty  miles  above  Dixon's  Ferry,  on  Rock  river.  Should  the  mounted  men 
under  your  command  make  an  attack  on  that  party,  we  would  be  in  great  dan 
ger  here;  for  should  you  defeat  Black  Hawk,  the  retreat  would  be  on  our  set^ 
tlements.  There  are  now  collected  within  twenty  miles  above  our  settlements 
about  two  hundred  Winnebagoes,  and  should  the  Sauks  be  forced  into  the  Win 
nebago  country,  many  of  the  wavering  of  that  nation  would  unite  with  the 

i  George  Cubbage  taught  school  at  Dubuque  in  the  winter  of  1833-4;  was 
door-keeper  at  the  first  session  of  the  First  Legislative  Assembly  of  Wisconsin 
Ter.,  at  Belmont,  and  Adjutant  General  of  the  Ter. ;  one  of  the  Commissioners 
"for  laying  off  the  towns  of  Fort  Madison,  Burlington,  Belleview,  Dubuque, 
etc.,"  under  acts  of  Congress,  July  2d,  1836,  March  3d,  1837;  and  an  early 
settler  in  Jackson  County,  Iowa. 


28  HENRY  DODGE. 

hostile  Sauks.  I  have  no  doubt  it  is  part  of  the  policy  of  this  banditti  to  unite 
themselves  as  well  with  the  Pottawattamies  as  Winnebagoes.  It  is  absolutely 
important  to  the  safety  of  this  country  that  the  people  here  should  be  apprised 
of  the  intended  movements  of  your  army.  Could  you  detach  a  part  of  your 
command  across  the  Rock  river,  you  would  'afford  our  settlements  immediate 
protection,  and  we  would  promptly  unite  with  you,  with  such  a  mounted  force 
as  we  could  bring  into  the  field.  Judge  Gentry,  Colonel  Moore  and  James  P. 
Cox,  Esq.,  will  wait  on  your  Excellency  and  receive  your  orders. 

I  am,  sir,  with  respect  and  esteem,  your  obedient  servant.        H.  DOIX;K, 

Commanding  Michigan  Militia. 

The  Illinois  troops  were  not  in  a  situation  to  act  upon  the 
suggestion  of  Col.  Dodge.  They  were  soon  demoralized  by 
Stillman's  defeat,  May  I4th,  upon  which  Governor  Reynolds 
the  same  night  made  a  call  for  two  thousand  men,  and  sent  an 
express  to  inform  Col.  Dodge  of  the  disaster,  and  of  the  immi 
nent  danger  to  which  the  mining  settlements  were  exposed. 
Meanwhile,  Col.  Dodge  had  gone  himself  on  a  scouting  expe 
dition,  with  a  party  of  twenty-seven  men,  including  his  sons, 
Henry  L.,  and  Augustus  C.,  to  learn  the  movements  of  the 
enemy,  and  had  approached  near  to  the  scene  of  the  disaster, 
of  which  he  was  apprised  the  day  following.  Hastening  back 
to  the  mining  settlements,  he  hurried  forward  the  organization 
of  mounted  companies,  and  the  erection  of  stockade  forts  for 
home  protection  against  skulking  bands  of  savages.  Eight 
additional  companies  were  mustered  into  service  before  the 
2Oth  day  of  May.  Many  of  the  volunteers  furnished  their 
own  horses.  In  other  cases  the  horses  were  purchased  or 
impressed.  The  people  of  nearly  all  the  settlements,  in  the 
language  of  the  time,  "forted."  Fort  Union,  at  his  home,  was 
Col.  Dodge's  headquarters,  His  wife,  when  advised  to  repair 
to  Galena  for  safety,  refused,  saying,  "My  husband  and  sons 
are  between  me  and  the  Indians;  I  am  safe  so  long  as  they 
live."  No  Spartan  mother  displayed  greater  courage.  She 
could  read  her  Bible  and  say  her  prayers  and  lie  down  and 
sleep  until  morning,  though  her  youthful  daughters  could 
sleep,  only  to  dream  of  Indians,  and  of  their  mother  being 
scalped  and  murdered  by  the  savages.  Speaking  from  his 
own  recollections  fifty-one  years  afterwards,  A.  C.  Dodge 


HENRY  DODGE.  29 

said:  "Fathers  were  frequently  called  to  defend  their  own 
thresholds,  and  mothers  and  sisters  moulded  bullets,  and  car 
ried  water,  filling  barrels  in  order  to  have  a  supply  during  the 
anticipated  siege.  My  mother  and  sisters  have  done  both. 
The  cows  were  milked,  and  God  was  worshiped  under  the 
surveillance  of  armed  men !"  '  Fort  Defiance  was  at  the  farm 
of  D.  M.  Parkinson,  five  miles  southeast  of  Mineral  Point; 
Fort  Hamilton,  at  Hamilton's  Lead  Diggings,  now  Wiota; 
Mound  Fort,  at  the  Blue  Mounds. 

To  keep  the  neighboring  Winnebagoes  from  joining  Black 
Hawk  was  a  matter  of  first  concern.  For  this  purpose  Col. 
Dodge  and  his  familiar  and  trusted  friend,  Henry  Gratiot,  the 
sub-agent  of  the  Winnebagoes,  with  fifty  mounted  volunteers 
from  Iowa  County,  commanded  by  Captains  James  H.  Gentry 
and  John  H.  Rountree,  proceeded  to  one  of  their  principal 
villages,  near  the  headquarters  of  the  Four  Lakes,  seven 
miles  northwest  of  the  present  capital  of  Wisconsin,  and  held 
a  Talk  with  them  on  the  25th  of  May.  Col.  Dodge  said: 

My  Friends. — Mr.  Gratiot,  your  father,  and  myself  have  met  to  have  a  talk 
with  you. 

Having  identified  us  both  as  your  friends  in  making  a  sale  of  your  country 
to  the  United  States,2  you  will  not  suspect  us  for  deceiving  you. 

The  Sacs  have  shed  the  blood  of  our  people.  The  Winnebago  Prophet  and, 
as  we  are  told,  one  hundred  of  your  people  have  united  with  Black  Hawk  and 
his  party.  Our  people  are  anxious  to  know  in  what  relation  you  stand  to  us, 
whether  as  friends  or  enemies. 

Your  residence  being  near  our  settlements,  it  is  necessary  and  proper  that 
we  should  explicitly  understand  from  you  the  chiefs  and  warriors  whether  or 
not  you  intend  to  aid,  harbor  or  conceal  the  Sacs  in  vour  country.  To  do  so 
will  be  considered  as  a  declaration  of  war  on  your  part. 

Your  great  American  Father  is  the  friend  of  the  Red  Skins.  He  wishes  to 
make  you  happy.  Your  chiefs  who  have  visited  Washington  know  him  well. 
He  is  mild  in  peace,  but  terrible  in  war.  He  will  ask  of  no  people  what  is  not 
right,  and  he  will  submit  to  nothing  wrong.  His  power  is  great;  he  commands 
all  the  warriors  of  the  American  people.  If  you  strike  us  you  strike  him;  and 
to  make  war  on  us,  you  will  have  vour  country  taken  from  you,  your  annuity 

1  Semi-Centennial  of  Iowa,  p.  72. 

2  H.  Dodge  and  H.   Gratiot  were   present  at  the  treaty,   Aug.    i,  1829,  by 
which   the  Winnebago  Nation   agreed  to  relinquish   the   mining  country  lying 
between  the  Rock  and  Wisconsin  rivers  to  the  U.  S. 


30  HENRY  DODGE. 

nu>nev  will  hi-  forfeited,  and  the  lives  of  your  people  must  be  lost.  We  speak 
the  words  of  the  truth.  We  hope  they  will  sink  deep  in  your  hearts. 

The  Sacs  have  killed  eleven  of  our  people,  and  wounded  three.  Our  people 
have  killed  eleven  of  the  Sacs;  it  was  hut  a  small  detachment  of  our  army 
engaged  with  the  Sacs;  when  the  main  hodv  of  our  army  appeared,  the  Sacs 
ran.  The  Sacs  have  given  you  bad  counsel.  They  tell  you  lies,  and  no  truth. 
Stop  vour  ears  to  their  words.  They  know  death  and  destruction  follows 
them.  They  want  you  to  unite  with  them,  wishing  to  place  you  in  the  same 
situation  with  themselves. 

We  have  told  you  the  consequences  of  uniting  with  our  enemies.  We  hope, 
however,  the  bright  chain  of  friendship  will  still  continue,  that  we  may  travel  the 
same  road  in  friendship  under  a  clear  sky.  We  have  always  been  your  friends. 
We  have  said  you  would  be  honest  and  true  to  vour  treaties.  Do  not  let  your 
actions  deceive  us.  So  long  as  you  are  true  and  faithful,  we  will  extend  the 
hand  of  friendship  to  you  and  your  children;  if  unfaithful,  you  must  expect  to 
share  the  fate  of  the  Sacs. 

The  Winnebago  chiefs  gave  assurance^  of  friendship  and 
fidelity,  and  promised  to  remain  at  peace.  Col.  Dodge  re 
turned  to  his  headquarters.  A  few  days  afterward,  May  3Oth, 
learning  by  an  express  from  Gen.  Atkinson  that  Rachel  and 
Sylvia  Hall  had  been  carried  into  captivity  from  near  Ottawa, 
Illinois,  on  the  2ist  of  May,  when  their  parents  were  scalped, 
he  took  prompt  measures  to  procure  their  release.  A  band 
of  Winnebagoes  under  White  Crow  were  stimulated  by  the 
offer  of  two  thousand  dollars  made  by  Gen.  Atkinson,  to  go 
after  them.  They  found  them  in  a  Sac  camp,  and  obtained 
their  release,  and  brought  them  to  the  Fort  at  Blue  Mound  on 
the  3d  of  June.  The  same  day,  half-an-hour  after  their  arri 
val,  Col.  Dodge,  who  had  been  warned  of  an  apprehended 
Indian  attack,  came  upon  the  ground  with  a  mounted  force. 
He  gave  White  Crow  and  his  band  warm  greetings,  and  pro 
cured  for  them  a  large  beef  steer,  of  which  they  made  a  feast. 
He  prepared  comfortable  quarters  for  them  at  night  in  miners' 
cabins,  and  congratulated  himself  upon  the  good  disposition 
they  seemed  to  manifest,  while  not  free  from  suspicion  of  their 
duplicity.  In  the  course  of  the  night  he  was  awakened  by  J. 
P.  Bion  Gratiot,  brother  of  Henry  Gratiot,  who  rushed  into 
his  cabin,  and  bade  him  rouse  up  and  prepare  for  action.  He 
said  that  the  Indians  had  left  the  quarters  given  them,  had 


HENRY  DODGE.  31 

gone  into  the  brush,  that  White  Crow  was  stirring  them  up  to 
hostility,  speaking  in  insulting  terms  of  Col.  Dodge  as  "no 
great  shakes  of  a  fighter,"  saying  that  Black  Hawk  would 
make  mince  meat  of  him,  as  he  had  of  Major  Stillman,  that 
the  whites  could  not  right,  that  they  were  a  soft-shelled  breed, 
that  they  would  not  stand  before  the  yell  of  the  Red  man,  but 
would  run  upon  the  approach  of  danger,  and  stick  their  heads 
in  the  brush  like  turkeys  or  quails,  that  when  the  spear  was 
applied  to  them  they  would  squawk  like  ducks ;  and  he  imita 
ted  in  Indian  style  the  spearing  and  scalping  at  Stillman's 
defeat,  and  said  that  all  the  whites  who  marched  against  the 
Indians  would  be  served  the  same  way.  White  Crow  told 
Gratiot  that  he  was  friendly  to  him,  and  advised  him  to  quit 
Col.  Dodge,  and  go  home,  and  stay  there.  Furthermore, 
said  Gratiot,  the  Indians  have  been  grinding  their  knives, 
tomahawks  and  spears. 

Col.  Dodge  heard  these  reports  without  saying  a  word; 
but  no  one,  says  an  eye-witness,1  could  mistake  the  raging 
storm  within  his  breast.  He  jumped  to  his  feet,  as  his 
informant  ended,  and,  although  ordinarily  cool  and  collected, 
he  indulged  upon  the  occasion  in  some  severity  and  invective. 
"Do  not  be  alarmed,"  he  said;"  I  will  see  that  no  harm  befalls 
you;  in  case  of  an  attack,  I  will  stand  by  you  until  the  last 
drop  of  blood  is  spilt.  I  will  show  the  White  Crow  that  we 
are  not  of  the  soft-shelled  breed,  that  we  can  stand  the  spear 
without  sqawking,  that  we  will  not  run  and  stick  our  heads 
in  the  bush."  He  then  called  the  officer  of  the  guard  and  his 
interpreter,  and,  taking  with  them  six  of  the  guard,  went  to 
where  the  Indians  were,  and  took  White  Crow  and  five  others 
of  his  band  into  custody,  marched  them  to  a  cabin,  and 
ordered  them  to  lie  down  and  remain  there  until  morning;  he 
himself  laid  down  by  them,  having  first  placed  a  strong  guard 
around  the  cabin,  and  a  double  guard  around  the  whole 
encampment.  The  next  day  the  whole  band,  despite  the  com 
plaint  that  their  feet  were  sore  from  their  long  travel  in  bring- 

i     Peter  Parkinson,  Jr.,  son  of  D.  M.  Parkinson.  Wis.  His.  Coll.  X.  184-212. 


32  HENRY  DODGE. 

ing  in  the  Hall  girls,  were  marched  to  Morrison's  Grove, 
fifteen  miles  west  of  the  Blue  Mounds,  where  Col.  Dodge  held 
a  "Talk"  with  them  in  the  presence  of  the  agent,  June  5th, 
and  told  them  of  his  apprehensions  that  they  were  in  sym 
pathy  with  Black  Hawk,  as  many  of  their  young  men  were  in 
his  ranks,  and  that  he  must  hold  them  as  enemies,  unless  they 
gave  positive  assurance  that  they  would  remain  neutral.  White 
Crow  answered  that,  although  a  few  of  their  young  men 
whose-  warlike  temper  could  not  be  controlled  were  with 
Black  Hawk,  the  Winnebagoes  generally  were  friendly  to  the 
whites.  Col.  Dodge  determined  to  be  on  the  safe  side,  and 
stipulated  to  hold  three  of  the  Winnebagoes,  Whirling  Thunder, 
Spotted  Arm,  and  Little  Priest,  as  hostages  for  the  good  faith 
of  the  nation,  and  they  were  retained  in  the  fort  at  Gratiot's 
Grove  until  the  end  of  the  month.  It  is  the  testimony  of  those 
who  were  upon  the  ground  that  this  action  averted  an  attack 
of  the  whole  force  of  Winnebagoes  who  were  waiting  near 
the  Four  Lakes,  if  a  favorable  opportunity  offered,  to  make  a 
strike  for  Black  Hawk;  "but  the  timely  movement  of  Col. 
Dodge  foiled  them."  The  Hall  sisters  were  sent  by  way  of 
Galena  and  St.  Louis  to  their  friends. 

On  the  6th  of  June  a  mounted  company  from  Galena,  com 
manded  by  Capt.  J.  W.  Stephenson,  joined  Col.  Dodge's  forces 
at  Gratiot's  Grove.  The  isolation  of  the  mining  district  from 
the  rest  of  the  country  threw  the  people  of  that  district  upon 
themselves  for  protection,  and  made  concerted  action  on  the 
part  of  those  in  the  State  of  Illinois  and  of  those  in  Michigan 
Territory  a  necessity.  There  were  some  differences  as  to 
proper  means  for  defence,  and  some  jealousies  arose,  but  a 
feeling  of  confidence  in  the  leadership  of  Col.  Dodge  obtained 
throughout  the  region.  While  at  Gratiot's  Grove,  he  pre 
pared  the  following  address  to  the  Volunteers  now  number 
ing  about  200  mounted  men,  which  he  delivered  to  them  the 
next  day,  upon  the  march  to  Rock  River,  at  Kirker's  Place, 
where  they  camped,  on  the  old  "Sucker  trail,"  that  ran  along  a 
branch  of  Apple  River,  in  what  is  now  Rush  Township,  Jo 
Davies  County,  Illinois: 


HENRY  DODGE.  33 

VOLUNTEERS: — We  have  met  to  take  the  field.  The  tomahawk  and  scalp 
ing  knife  are  drawn  over  the  heads  of  the  weak  and  defenceless  inhabitants  of 
our  country.  Although  the  most  exposed  people  in  the  United  States  and 
Territories,  living  as  we  do,  surrounded  by  savages,  not  a  drop  of  the  blood  of 
the  people  of  this  part  of  the  Territory  of  Michigan  has  been  shed.1  Let  us 
unite,  my  brethren  in  arms.  Let  harmony,  union,  and  concert  exist;  be  vigi 
lant,  silent  and  cool.  Discipline  and  obedience  to  orders  will  make  small  bodies 
of  men  formidable  and  invincible;  without  order  and  subordination,  the  largest 
bodies  of  armed  men  are  no  better  than  armed  mobs.  We  have  everything 
dear  to  freemen  at  stake,  the  protection  of  our  frontiers,  and  the  lives  of  our 
people.  Although  we  have  entire  confidence  in  the  Government  of  our 
choice,  knowing  that  ours  is  a  Government  of  the  people,  where  the  equal 
rights  of  all  are  protected,  and  that  the  power  of  our  countrvmen  can  crush 
this  savage  foe,  yet  it  will  take  time  for  the  Government  to  direct  a  force  suf 
ficient  to  give  security  and  peace  to  the  frontier  people. 

I  have,  Gentlemen,  as  well  as  yourselves,  entire  confidence  both  in  the 
President  of  the  United  States  and  the  present  distinguished  individual  2  at  the 
head  of  the  War  Department;  our  Indian  relations  are  better  understood  by 
them  than  by  any  two  citizens  who  could  be  selected  to  fill  their  stations. 
They  have  often  met  our  savage  enemies  on  the  field  of  battle  where  they 
have  conquered  them,  as  well  as  in  council.  They  understand  the  artifice, 
cunning  and  stratagem  for  which  our  enemies  are  distinguished.  They  know 
our  wants,  and  will  apply  the  remedy.  In  General  Atkinson,  in  whose  pro 
tection  this  frontier  is  placed,  I  have  entire  confidence.  You  will  recollect  the 
responsibility  he  assumed  for  the  people  of  this  country  in  1827,  by  ascending 
the  Wisconsin  with  six  hundred  infantry  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  mounted 
men,  to  demand  the  murderers  of  our  people.  Many  of  us  had  the  honor 
of  serving  under  him  on  that  occasion.  He  has  my  entire  confidence  both  as 
a  man  of  talents  in  his  profession,  a  soldier  and  a  gentleman.  If  our  Govern 
ment  will  let  him  retain  the  command,  he  will  give  us  a  lasting  peace  that  will 
insure  us  tranquillity  for  years.  He  knows  the  resources  as  well  as  the 
character  of  the  Indians  we  have  to  contend  with;  let  the  Government  furnish 
him  the  means,  and  our  troubles  will  be  of  short  duration. 

What,  my  fellow  soldiers,  is  the  character  of  the  foe  we  have  to  contend 
with?  They  are  a  faithless  banditti  of  savages  who  have  violated  all  treaties. 
.  They  have  left  the  country  and  the  nation  of  which  they  form  a  part.  The 
policy  of  these  mauraders  and  robbers  of  our  people  appears  to  be,  to 
enlist  the  disaffected  and  restless  of  other  nations,  which  will  give  them 
strength  and  resources  to  murder  our  people  and  burn  their  property.  They 
are  the  enemies  of  all  people,  both  the  whites  and  Indians.  Their  thirst  of 
blood  is  not  to  be  satisfied.  They  are  willing  to  bring  ruin  and  destruction  on 
other  Indians,  in  order  to  glut  their  vengeance  on  us.  The  humane  policy  of 


1  The  same  day  Col.  Dodge  was  preparing  this  address,  James  Aubrey  was 
killed  bv  a  skulking  band  of  Indians,  at  the  Blue  Mounds,  June  6th.     Smith's 
His.  of  Wis.,  III.  209. 

2  Lewis  Cass. 


34  HENRY  DOIX;K. 

the  Government  will  not  apply  to  these  deluded  people.  Like  the  pirates  of 
the  sea,  their  hand  is  against  every  man;  and  the  hand  of  every  man  should 
be  against  them.  The  future  growth  and  prosperity  of  our  country  is  to  be 
decided  for  years  by  the  policy  that  is  now  to  be  pursued  by  the  Government 
in  relation  to  the  Indians. 

Our  existence  as  a  people  is  at  stake;  and  gentlemen,  great  as  the  resources 
of  our  Government  are,  the-  security  of  the  lives  of  our  people  depends  upon 
our  vigilance,  caution  and  bravery.  The  assistance  of  our  Government  may 
be  too  late  for  us.  Let  us  not  await  the  arrival  of  our  enemies  at  our  doors,  but 
advance  upon  them,  fight  them,  watch  them,  and  hold  them  in  check.  Let  us 
avoid  surprise  and  ambuscades.  Let  every  volunteer  lie  with  his  arms  in  his 
hands,  ready  for  action,  so  that  when  each  arises  to  his  feet  the  line  of  battle 
will  be  formed.  If  attacked  in  the  night,  we  will  charge  the  enemy  at  a  quick 
pace  and  even  front.  The  eyes  of  the  people  are  upon  us ;  let  us  endeavor  by 
our  actions  to  retain  the  confidence  and  support  of  our  countrymen. 

Col.  Dodge  with  his  command  proceeded  on  his  march, 
passing  over  the  ground  of  several  recent  Indian  murders, 
near  the  present  town  of  Polo,  Illinois.  They  buried  the  dead, 
so  far  as  their  remains  could  be  found;  among  others,  those 
of  Felix  St.  Vrain.1  At  this  point  Capt.  Stephenson  with  his 
men  returned  to  Galena.  The  next  evening  they  encamped 
at  Hickory  Point,  where  five  of  their  horses  were  stolen  that 
night  by  the  Indians.  After  reaching  the  camp  of  the  U.  S. 
regular  troops  at  Dixon's  Ferry,  where  Gen.  Hugh  Brady, 
who  had  just  come  from  Detroit,  was  in  command,  Col.  Dodge 
with  twenty-five  men  escorted  Gen.  Brady  to  the  rapids  of 
the  Illinois  River  (now  Ottawa),  where  Gen.  Atkinson  was 
receiving  new  levies  of  Illinois  volunteers.  Here  plans  of  the 

i  Mr.  St.  Vrain  was  the  trustworthy  and  meritorious  U.  S.  Agent  for  the 
confederate  tribe  of  Sacs  and  Foxes,  including  Black  Hawk's  band.  He  was 
distinguished  for  intelligence,  integrity,  and  for  the  deep  interest  he  had  mani 
fested  in  the  welfare  of  all  the  Indians  confided  to  his  charge.  He  spoke  their 
language,  and  they,  according  to  their  custom,  had  formally  adopted  him  not 
only  as  a  friend,  but  a  brother.  Notwithstanding  all  this,  when  the  parties 
confronted  each  other  on  the  22d  of  May,  St.  Vrain,  in  the  act  of  extending  the 
hand  of  friendship,  and  addressing  words  of  imploration  to  the  Chief  "  Little 
Bear,"  not  to  spare  his  life,  but  to  desist  from  war  against  the  whites,  was  shot 
down  with  his  associates  by  those  whom  he  had  fed  and  sheltered,  and  with 
whom  he  was  as  intimate  as  a  brother.  The  bodies  of  himself  and  companions 
were  mangled  in  the  most  shocking  manner.  Mr.  St.  Vrain  was  a  brother- 
in-law  of  ex-Senator  George  W.  Jones,  of  this  State.  A.  C.  Dodge.  Semi- 
Centennial  of  Iowa,  p.  73. 


HENRY  DODGE.  35 

campaign  were  considered.  It  being  impossible  for  the  U.  S. 
Commissary  to  supply  Col.  Dodge's  command  with  sub 
sistence  and  forage,  Gen.  Atkinson  directed  Col.  Dodge,  by 
letter  of  June  nth,  1832,  to  procure  them.  Having  received 
his  orders,  Col.  Dodge  returned  to  Dixon's  Ferry,  reaching 
there  about  midnight,  and  early  the  following  morning,  June 
1 3th,  put  his  command  in  motion  for  Gratiot's  Grove,  where, 
after  two  days  march  they  arrived  worn  and  fatigued.  For 
eight  days  they  had  been  constantly  on  the  march;  the  horses 
with  no  subsistence  but  grass.  The  men  were  remanded  to 
their  respective  forts  for  a  few  days,  to  recruit  their  horses. 
Col.  Dodge  delivered  a  "Talk"  from  Gen.  Atkinson  to  the 
Winnebago  hostages,  and  sent  them  with  a  confidential  man, 
Emile,1  a  French  trader,  on  an  expedition  to  ascertain,  if  pos 
sible,  where  the  Sacs  were  encamped.  He  addressed  the 
following  letter  to  a  merchant  at  Galena  with  reference  to 
supplies  for  his  troops,  and  for  families  in  the  mining  district 
who  had  been  driven  from  their  homes,  and  who  were  now 
destitute  and  unable  to  provide  for  themselves  in  the  suspen 
sion  of  all  labor  and  business: 

»  GRATIOT'S  GROVE,  June  i4th,  1832. 

DEAR  SIR: — I  was  at  the  headquarters  of  Gen.  Atkinson,  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Fox  River  of  the  Illinois,  on  the  nth  inst.  He  is  actively  engaged  in  mak 
ing  preparations  to  march  against  the  hostile  Indians.  He  will  bring  into  the 
field  about  3,000  men.  I  will  copy  for  your  information  that  part  of  my  order 
as  respects  the  supplies  of  provisions  for  the  use  of  the  troops  under  my  com 
mand :  "Your  detached  situation  renders  it  impossible  for  me  to  furnish  sub 
sistence  for  your  troops;  you  will  therefore  procure  supplies  upon  the  best 
terms  practicable,  and  in  the  issue  not  exceed  the  U.  S.  allowance,  and  at  the 
same  time  be  careful  to  have  the  accounts  kept  accurately." 

I  have  copied  that  part  of  Gen.  Atkinson's  order  in  which  you  are  interested. 

Although  it  would  seem  from  his  order  that  the  rations  furnished  those  not 
under  arms  would  not  be  paid  for,  the  Government  of  the  United  States  will 
certainly  pay  for  rations  furnished  the  inhabitants,  the  protection  of  whose 

i  Mentioned  in  the  Treaty  with  the  Winnebagoes,  at  Prairie  du  Chien, 
August  ist,  1829,  as  "Oliver  Amelle:"  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  VII,  324; 
written  "Emmell,"  by  Col.  Dodge  in  his  letter  of  July  141*1,  1833,  to  Gen. 
Atkinson ;  he  built  the  first  house,  a  trading  house,  where  is  now  the  Capital 
of  Wisconsin.  Wis.  His.  Coll.,  X.  69. 


36  HENRY  DODGE. 

lives  makes  it  necessary  for  them  to  fort  themselves,  to  avoid  the  tomahawk 
and  scalping  knife.  The  people  of  the  country  have  been  invited  here  by  the 
agents  of  the  Government  to  settle  in  this  country,  to  work  the  lead  mines. 
Thev  are  neither  intruders  nor  squatters  on  the  public  lands.  The  Govern 
ment  has  by  the  industry  and  enterprise  of  the  people  of  the  mil. ing  country 
derived  all  the  advantages  which  they  could  have  anticipated  in  the  working 
and  exploration  of  their  mines.  The  Government  has  no  regular  troops  here 
to  afiord  protection  to  our  exposed  settlements,  and  I  have  no  hesitation  in 
saying  that  the  rations  furnished  women  and  children  will  be  paid  for  by  a 
special  appropriation  to  be  made  by  Congress. 

The  only  difference  with  you,  as  I  confidently  believe,  will  be  that  the 
amount  due  you  for  furnishing  the -troops  under  my  im mediate  command  will 
be  paid  for  promptly,  by  the  War  Department,  and  for  the  residue  a  special 
law  will  have  to  be  passed. 

This  is  a  subject  of  great  importance  to  the  inhabitants  who  have  been  driven 
from  their  homes  by  the  savages.  Unless  they  can  be  furnished  on  the  credit 
of  the  Government,  starvation  must  ensue,  as  many  of  them  are  unable  to 
leave  this  country,  and  they  are  also  unable  to  furnish  themselves.  I  will 
thank  you  to  write  me  on  this  subject  as  early  as  possible. 

I  am,  with  much  respect,  your  obedient  servant, 

H.  DODGE, 
Col.  Commanding  the  Militia  of  Iowa  County,  M.  T. 

MR.  JOHN  ATCHISON,  Galena. 

The  same  day  he  proceeded  to  his  home  at  Fort  Union. 
Murderous  bands  were  infesting  the  country.  Ere  he  entered 
his  house  he  was  informed  of  the  killing  of  Aubrey  at  {he 
Blue  Mounds.  Fear  and  terror  prevailed.  At  midnight  word 
came  that  seven  men  had  been  surprised  that  day  six  miles 
southeast  of  Ft.  Hamilton,  on  the  Pecatonica,  while  at  work  in 
a  corn-field,  of  whom  five  were  killed,  and  two  had  escaped. 
He  despatched  an  express  to  Capt.  Gentry  at  the  Platte 
Mounds,  to  march  to  the  place  and  bury  the  dead,  and  find 
out  the  number  and  movements  of  the  enemy.  The  news 
reached  Ft.  Defiance  earlier,  and  Lt.  Bracken  with  ten  men 
marched  from  that  post  the  same  night  to  Ft.  Hamilton,  and 
the  next  day  collected  the  remains  of  the  dead,  and  buried 
them.  At  a  council  that  evening,  Capt.  Gentry  and  his  men 
having  arrived,  it  was  agreed  that  if  Col.  Dodge  did  not  arrive 
by  8  o'clock  next  morning,  those  present  wrould  take  the  trail, 
and  pursue  the  Indians.  Meanwhile,  Col.  Dodge  had  first 
gone  to  the  Blue  Mounds  to  leave  orders  and  see  the  situ- 


HENRY  DODGE.  37 

ation  there,  and  had  then  scoured  the  country  to  within  ten 
miles  of  Ft.  Hamilton,  where  he  camped  for  the  night  at 
Fretvvell's  Diggings. 

The  next  morning,  June  i6th,  about  a  mile  from  the  Fort, 
Col.  Dodge  left  the  main  road,  which  passed  round  a  field, 
and  took  a  by-path,  to  shorten  the  distance.  Coming  into  the 
main  road  again  he  met  a  German  (Henry  Apple)  on  a  good 
horse,  which  Capt.  Gentry  had  wanted  to  impress  into  the 
service ;  but  Apple  said  that  if  he  might  go  to  his  cabin  for  his 
blankets  he  would  join  the  expedition.  After  a  few  inquiries 
Col.  Dodge  passed  on,  and  Apple  went  along  upon  the  main 
road.  At  the  time  eleven  Indians  were  lying  on  that  road  in 
ambush,  within  150  yards.  Before  reaching  the  Fort,  Col. 
Dodge  heard  three  guns  fired,  and  at  first  supposed  it  was 
Capt.  Gentry's  men  shooting  at  a  target.  In  an  instant 
Apple's  horse  came  galloping  back,  without  rider,  the  saddle 
bloody,  a  bullet-hole  through  the  top  of  his  neck  and  ear. 

It  afterward  appeared  that  the  Indians  had  first  waylaid  the 
by-path,  but  at  this  time  had  moved  over  to  the  main  road. 
Had  Col.  Dodge  kept  that  road,  or  had  he  arrived  half  an 
hour  earlier  upon  the  by-path,  he  would  have  fallen  into  the 
ambuscade,  instead  of  Apple. 

At  the'  Fort  all  was  wild  excitement.  Many  were  for  rush 
ing  pell-mell  after  the  Indians.  Instantly  Col.  Dodge  with 
stentorian  voice  ordered  the  men  to  "saddle  up."  He  said: 
"Fellow-soldiers — We  shall  immediately  follow^  the  Indians, 
and  overtake  them  if  possible.  We  know  not  their  number. 
If  any  of  you  cannot  charge  them  sword  in  hand,  fall  back 
now%  as  I  want  none  with  me  but  those  on  whom  I  can  rely  in 
any  emergency."  None  fell  back.  Twenty-nine  mounted 
men  joined  Col.  Dodge  in  the  pursuit.  They  passed  the 
scalped  and  mangled  body  of  Apple,  butchered  in  a  shocking 
manner.  Says  Col.  Dodge  in  his  report  to  Gen.  Atkinson, 
written  two  days  afterward  from  Ft.  Union: 

The  Indians  had  not  more  than  thirty  minutes  start.  They  retreated  through 
a  thicket  of  undergrowth,  almost  impassable  for  horsemen;  they  scattered  to 


38  HENRY  Donr.i:. 

prevent  our  trailing  them.  Finding  we  had  open  prairie  around  the  thicket,  I 
despatched  part  of  mv  men  to  look  for  the  trail  of  the  Indians  in  the  open 
ground.  In  running  our  horses  about  two  miles,  we  saw  them  about  half  a  mile 
ahead,  trotting  along  at  their  ease ;  they  were  making  for  the  low  ground,  where  it 
would  be  diHk-ult  for  us  to  pursue  them  on  horseback.  Two  of  the  small 
vtiv.un-  h;ul  such  sleep  hanks  as  to  oblige  us  to  dismount,  and  jump  our  hordes 
down  the  banks,  and  force  o-ur  way  over  the  best  way  we  could.  This  delay 
again  gave  the  Indians  the  start,  but  my  horses  being  good,  and  men  eager  in 
the  pursuit,  I  gained  an  them  rapidly..  They  were  directing  their  course  to  a 
bend  of  the  Pecatonica,  covered  with  a  deep  swamp,  which  they  reached  before 
I  could  cross  that  stream,  owing  to  the  steepness  of  the  banks,  and  the  depth 
of  the  water.  After  crossing  the  Pecatonica,  in  the  open  ground  I  dismounted 
my  command,  linked  my  horses,  left  four  men  in  charge  of  them,  and  sent 
four  men  in  different  directions  to  watch  the  movements  of  the  Indians,  if 
they  should  attempt  to  swim  the  Pecatonica;  the  men  were  placed  on  high 
points  that  would  give  a  view  of  the  enemy,  should  they  attempt  to  retreat.  I 
formed  my  men  on  foot  at  open  order,  and  at  trailed  arms,  and  we  proceeded 
through  the  swamps  to  some  timber  and  undergrowth,  where  I  expected  to 
find  the  enemy.  When  I  found  their  trail,  I  knew  they  were  close  at  hand; 
they  had  got  close  to  the  edge  of  the  lake,  where  the  bank  was  about  six  feet 
high,  which  was  a  complete  breastwork  for  them.  They  commenced  the  fire, 
when  three  of  my  men  fell,  two  dangerously  wounded,  one  severely  but  not 
dangerously.  I  instantly  ordered  a  charge  on  them  made  by  eighteen  men, 
which  was  promptly  obeyed.  The  Indians  being  under  the  bank,  our  guns 
were  brought  within  ten  or  fifteen  feet  of  them  before  we  could  fire  on  them. 
Their  party  consisted  of  thirteen  men.  Eleven  were  killed  on  the  spot,  and 
the  remaining  two  were  killed  in  crossing  the  lake,  so  that  they  were  left  with 
out  one  to  carry  the  news  to  their  friends. 

The  volunteers  under  my  command  behaved  with  great  gallantry.  It  would 
be  impossible  for  me  to  discriminate  among  them;  at  the  word  "charge,"  the 
men  rushed  forward,  and  literally  shot  the  Indians  to  pieces.  We  were,  In 
dians  and  whites,  on  a  piece  of  ground  not  to  exceed  sixty  feet  square. 

A  part  of  the  scalps  were  given  to  the  Sioux  and  Menomonies  as  well  as  the 
Winnebagoes.  Col.  Hamilton  had  arrived  with  these  Indians  about  one  hour 
after  our  defeating  the  hostile  Sacs.  The  friendly  Indians  appeared  delighted 
with  the  scalps.  They  went  to  the  ground  where  the  Indians  were  killed,  and 
cut  them  literally  to  pieces. 

The  Indian  commander  was  a  big,  burly  brave,  often  run 
ning  back  during  the  charge  to  encourage  his  men,  and  ha 
ranguing  them  in  battle.  In  the  thick  of  the  fight  he  came 
toward  Col.  Dodge  with  his  gun  on  his  shoulder,  halted  at  a 
few  paces,  drew  the  trigger,  and  was  disappointed  in  his  gun 
not  going  off.  The  same  instant  Col.  Dodge  brought  his  rifle 
in  position,  pulled  the  trigger,  but  from  dampness  of  the  pow- 


A    The  point  at  which  we   dismounted  and  left  our 

horses  with  a  guard. 

•mr:Line  of  march  in  our  advance  upon  the  ambuscade. 
B     Our  position  at  the  time  we  received  the  fire  of  the 

enemy,  and  from  which  we  made  the  charge. 
C  C     Indian  position  under  a  natural  embankment  on 

the  bank  of  the  pond. 
D  D     Line  of  march  in  the  pursuit. 


BATTLE  OF  HORSE  SHOE  BEND,  JUNE  16,  1832. 


HENRY  DODGE.  39 

der  it  did  not  go  off.  Meantime  the  brave  approached,  knife 
in  hand;  when  only  a  few  feet  away,  Col.  Dodge  shot  him 
down  with  his  pistol. 

The  scene  of  the  battle,  Horse  Shoe  Bend,  was  about  two 
miles  and  a  half  from  Fort  Hamilton,  on  section  eleven  in 
what  is  now  Wiota  township.  After  various  discomfitures  on 
the  part  of  different  bodies  of  troops  that  had  taken  the  field, 
this  was  the  first  victory  over  the  hostile  Sacs.  "  It  was  con 
sidered  the  most  brilliant  affair  of  the  war,  and  was  entirely 
in  keeping  with  the  General's  former  character,"  says  an  offi 
cer  of  the  regular  army,1  who  received  the  details  of  the  affair 
from  an  eye-witness  a  few  days  subsequently.  "  This  little 
action,"  said  Governor  Ford,"2  will  equal  any  for  courage, 
brilliancy  and  success  in  the  whole  history  of  Indian  wars." 
It  brought  a  sense  of  relief  to  the  mining  settlements,  and 
revived  confidence  along  the  frontier.  The  troops  returned 
to  Fort  Hamilton,  conveying  the  wounded  partly  by  litter, 
partly  by  wagon. 

The  next  morning  a  "talk"  was  had  with  the  friendly  In 
dians.  The  following  extracts  from  MS.  letters,  preserved 
in  the  Library  of  the  State  Historical  Society  of  Wisconsin, 
explain  the  appearance  of  these  Indians  upon  the  scene: 

J.  M.  STREET  TO  T.  P.  BURNETT. 

PRAIRIE  DU  CHIEN,  Feb.  i,  1832. 

The  Menomonees  and  Sioux  are  preparing  for  a  retaliatory  war  this  spring.3 
The  Sacs  and  Foxes,  I  learn,  expect  retaliation,  and  will  be  in  preparation  to 
meet  them.  Therefore  a  bloody  contest  may  be  expected. 

GEN.  ATKINSON  TO  J.  M.  STREET. 
HEADQUARTERS  RIGHT  WING  WESTERN  DEPARTMENT,  ) 
DIXON'S  FERRY,  ROCK  RIVER,  May  26,  1832.      \ 

I  have  to  request  that  you  will  send   to  me  at  this   place  with  as  little  delay 

1  E.  Buckner,  in  Michigan  Pioneer  Coll.,  xii,  424—436. 

2  His.  of  Illinois,  p.  128. 

3  A  party  of  twenty-eight  Menomonees  had  been  stolen  upon  and  murdered 
by  a  band  of  Sacs  and  Foxes  near  Prairie  du  Chien  a  few  months  before.    It  was 
for  the  purpose  of  demanding  the   surrender  of  the  murderers,  and    in   the 
interest  of  peace  between  those  tribes,   that  Gen.  Atkinson  was  on  his  way  up 
the  Mississippi  from  Jefferson  Barracks  at  the  very  time  Black  Hawk  crossed 
over  into  Illinois. 


40  HENRY  DODGE. 

as  possible  as  munv  Menomonee  and  Sioux  Indians  as  can  be  collected  within 
a  striking  distance  of  Prairie  du  Chien.  I  want  to  employ  them  in  conjunc 
tion  with  the  troops  against  the  Sac  and  Fox  Indians,  who  are  now  some  40  or 
50  miles  above  us  in  a  state  of  war  against  the  whites.  I  understand  the-  Mc- 
nomonees  to  the  number  of  300  warriors,  who  were  a  few  days  ago  with  you,  are 
anxious  to  take  part  with  us.  Do  encourage  them  to  do  so,  and  pjomise  them 
rations,  blankets,  pay,  etc.  I  have  written  Capt.  Loomis  to  furnish  them  some 
arms,  if  they  can  be  spared,  and' ammunition. 

Col.  Hamilton,  who  has  volunteered  his  services  to  lead  the  Indians  to  this 
place,  will  hand  you  this  letter,  and,  if  the  Menomonees  and  Sioux  can  be 
prevailed  upon  to  come,  will  perform  the  duty.  I  have  to  desire  that  Mr. 
Marsh  may  be  sent  with  Col.  H.  and  the  Indians,  and  an  interpreter  of  the 
Menomonee  language. 

J.  M.  STREET  TO  T.  P.  BURNETT. 

PRAIRIE  DU  CHIEX,  May  30,  1^32. 

You  will  proceed  with  John  Marsh  to  the  nearest  Sioux  villages,  and  render 
him  such  aid  as  may  be  necessary  in  obtaining  as  many  of  the  Indians  as  you 
may  be  enabled,  to  come  down  with  you,  and  proceed  under  the  command  of 
Mr.  Marsh  to  join  Gen.  Atkinson.  Use  every  means  of  persuasion  to  expedite 
the  object,  and  hasten  your  return,  as  much  depends  on  expedition. 

T.  P.  BURNETT  TO  J.  M.  STREET. 

PRAIRIE  DU  CHIEN,  June  5,  1832. 

In  obedience  to  your  order  I  set  out  immediately  from  this  place  in  company 
with  Mr.  Marsh  in  a  canoe,  and  eight  hands,  to  visit  the  nearest  village  of  the 
Sioux  Indians. 

From  recent  indications  among  the  Winnebagoes  of  the  Upper  Mississippi 
of  a  disposition  to  engage  in  hostilities  against  the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  Mr.  Marsh 
and  myself  concluded  to  call  at  their  village  upon  the  river  of  Prairie  a  la 
Crosse,  and  invite  as  many  of  them  as  should  choose  to  do  so,  to  join  us  upon 
our  return.  We  arrived  at  the  Winnebago  village  on  the  evening  of  the  next 
day  after  our  departure,  and  on  that  night  had  a  talk  with  the  chiefs  and  braves 
upon  the  subject.  Winoashikan  was  opposed  to  the  measure,  and  did  not  want 
to  have  anything  to  do  with  the  business.  He  said  that  the  Sacs  had  this 
season  twice  presented  the  red  wampum  to  the  Winnebagoes  at  the  Portage, 
and  that  they  as  often  washed  it  white,  and  handed  it  back  to  them,  that  he 
did  not  like  that  red  thing,  he  was  afraid  of  it.  Wandvkhatakan  took  up  the 
wampum,  and  said  that  he  with  all  the  young  men  of  the  village  would  go, 
that  they  were  anxious  to  engage  in  the  expedition,  and  would  be  r^ady  to 
accompany  us  upon  our  return. 

The  next  day  we  arrived  at  Prairie  aux  Ailes,  and  found  the  Sioux  extremely 
anxious  to  go  against  the  Sacs  and  Foxes.  They  were  intending  to  make  a 
descent  against  them  in  a  few  days,  if  they  had  not  been  sent  for.  Although 
they  engaged  in  their  preparations  with  great  alacrity,  we  found  it  necessary 
to  wait  until  Monday  morning  to  give  them  time  to  have  everything  ready  for 
the  expedition. 


HENRY  DODGE.  41 

We  set  out  on  our  return  at  9  A.  M.,  accompanied  by  the  whole  effective 
force  of  the  band,  and  at  Prairie  a  la  Crosse  were  joined  by  about  twenty 
warriors  of  the  Winnebagoes,  who  told  us  that  the  remainder  of  their  village 
would  follow  the  next  day.  'We  reached  this  place  to-day  with  about  100  war 
riors.  I  think  from  the  disposition  manifested  by  the  Winnebagoes  their  num 
ber  will  be  augmented  to  fifty  or  sixty,  before  the  expedition  leaves  Prairie  du 
Chien,  making  a  force  of  Sioux  and  Winnebagoes  of  13001-  140  warriors.  The 
Indians  appear  well  affected  toward  the  whites,  are  in  high  spirits  and  seem 
anxious  for  an  opportunity  to  engage  the  Sacs  and  Foxes, 

I  made  the  Indians  the  promises  authorized  by  Gen.  Atkinson's  letter  for  sub 
sistence,  pay,  etc.,  and  told  them  that  their  families  would  be  supplied  with  pro 
visions  during  their  absence  from  home.  The  most  of  the  families  of  the 
warriors  have  accompanied  them  thus  far,  to  take  a  supply  of  provisions  home 
with  them,  when  the  expedition  shall  have  left  this  place.  Mr.  Marsh  has 
displayed  great  zeal  and  energy  in  effecting  the  object  of  our  visit,  and  his 
exertions  had  a  happy  effect  in  bringing  out  the  greatest  possible  force  from 
the  Band?  called  upon. 

The  Indian  allies,  however,  proved  to  be  of  no  service,  but 
betrayed  a  cowardly  spirit.  Some  of  them  said  that  they 
were  willing  to  fight  the  Sacs,  but  they  wanted  to  return  first, 
and  make  better  preparation.  They  consumed  an  enormous 
quantity  of  beef,  and  there  was  a  scarcity  of  subsistence.  It 
was  deemed  best  on  the  whole  to  send  them  back  up  the  Mis 
sissippi.  In  his  report  to  Gen.  Atkinson,  quoted  above,  Col. 
Dodge  added: 

I  was  extremelv  anxious  to  retain  them.  They  would  have  acted  as  spies, 
and  would  have  kept  the  enemy  in  a  state  of  check,  while  we  were  recruiting 
our  horses  for  the  expedition.  Whether  the  Indians  will  return  or  not,  I  am 
at  a  loss  to  say.  The' Winnebagoes  make  solemn  promises;  I  hope  they  will 
not  deceive  us.  We  are  doing  everything  in  our  power  to  conciliate  them. 
Decorra  says  that  the  whole  of  the  Rock  River  Indians  (Winnebagoes)  are 
over  the  Wisconsin;  that  they  have  left  the  Sacs  entire  possession  of  the 
countrv;  that  thev  (the  Sacs)  are  now  high  up  the  Rock  river,  where  there  is 
but  little  for  them  to  live  on,  and  they  must  perish  for  want.  This  I  can  not 
believe.  I  have  been  told  there  is  fish  in  great  abundance,  upon  which  alone 
thev  can  no  doubt  subsist. 

From  his  home  at  Ft.  Union  he  was  called  to  Galena,  to 
look  after  the  supplies  for  destitute  families,  for  which  he  had 
to  make  himself  personally  responsible.  At  Galena  he  was 
honored  with  the  presentation  of  a  flag  from  the  ladies,  with 
the  sentiment,  "  The  Daughters  of  the  Lead-Mines  to  our 
Father  War-Chief."  Soon  afterwards,  a  double-barrelled 


42  HENRY   Donci:. 

gun  was  forwarded  to  him  by  citizens  of  Prairie  clu  Chien,  in 
testimony  of  their  respect  for  his  valor,  with  the  folio  wing- 
letter : 

PRAIKIK   nu   CIIIKX,  jd  July,  1832. 

7),,rr  (rt'i/rfd!: — I  had  hoped  upon  my  return  from  Kentucky  and  the  ICast 
to  have  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  you  before  this  time,  but,  as  that  has  been 
denied  me,  I  have  been  much  gratified  to  hear  of  the  patriotic  efforts  which 
you  have  been  making  for  the  defence  of  our  common  country.  Your  sacri 
fices,  zeal,  energy,  and  success  in  defending  our  exposed  frontier,  almost  with 
out  means,  will  not  be  forgotten  bv  the  Government,  and  will  live  in  the 
grateful  recollections  of  your  fellow-citizens. 

The  people  of  this  place  have  not  viewed  without  deep  interest  the  scene. 
Although  they  have  not  done  much  to  aid  in  the  defence  of  their  more  exposed 
countrymen,  they  have  looked  with  intense  anxiety  to  the  result  of  every 
movement,  and  numbers  would  have  left  their  homes,  had  it  been  thought 
consistent  with  the  safety  of  this  place,  and  attached  themselves  to  your  stand 
ard.  But  you  know  the  character  of  the  mass  of  our  population,  and  the  little 
that  is  to  be  expected  from  them  in  offensive  operations.  And  even  in  defence, 
they  are  not  likely  to  act  efficiently  or  in  concert  until  a  few  shall  be  killed  by 
the  enemy.  Besides,  they  have  been'in  a  state  of  almost  constant  alarm  since 
my  return,  for  fear  of  an  attack  upon  this  place,  which  has  forbidden  all  idea 
of  volunteering  for  the  defence  of  any  other  part  of  the  country. 

I  had  it  in  contemplation,  although  crippled  in  one  of  my  thighs,  and  not 
having  perfect  health  for  eight  months,  to  return  with  Capt.  Estes,  and  offer 
my  feeble  aid  in  effecting  the  punishment  which  those  ruthless  savages  de 
serve.  But  I  was  informed  two  days  since,  that  the  first  mail  from  below 
would  most  likely  bring  me  an  order  for  my  removal  to  St.  Peters.  The  agent 
has  left  that  place  on  furlough,  and  the  sub-agent  has  resigned,  leaving  no  one 
to  manage  the  business  of  the  Department.  I  am  therefore  holding  myself  in 
readiness  for  a  change  of  location.  I  am  not  vain  enough,  however,  to  suppose 
that  this  can  be  of  any  material  consequence  to  you  or  the  country,  and  I  trust 
that  the  time  is  not  far  distant  when  the  services  of  none  of  our  citizens  will  be 
required  in  the  field,  and  all  who  survive  the  conflict  will  be  enabled  to  return 
to  their  families  and  homes. 

I  am  pleased  to  learn  that  there  is  now  a  sufficient  force  in  the  field  to  act 
decisively  against  the  hostile  savages,  and  I  hope  that  no  terms  will  be  made 
with  them  until  they  are  punished  in  so  signal  a  manner  as  to  quell  forever 
their  disposition  to  war  against  our  country.  You  and  the  brave  men  under 
vour  command  have  given  an  earnest  of  what  you  will  do  when  YOU  shall  be 
properly  supported,  and  I  doubt  not  when  the  day  of  meeting  shall  come  that 
you  will  give  a  good  account  of  those  who  shall  come  to  vour  hands. 

I  regret  that  the  Indians  collected  here  and  forwarded  to  the  army  have 
proven  so  useless.  The  Siouxs,  I  believe,  are  cowards,  and  the  feelings  of  the 
Winnebagoes  are  as  much  against  us  as  for  us,  probably  more  so;  yet  their  in 
terest  and  their  fears /will  keep  them  at  least  neutral.  I  have  no  apprehension 
that  they  will  act  as  a  body  against  us,  unless  our  army  should  be  defeated, 


HENRY  DODGE.  43 

which  must  be  out  of  the  range  of  all  probability.  The  Menominees  would  be 
.serviceable,  if  there  we/e  enough  of  them.  They  are  a  brave,  docile  and  faith 
ful  people,  but  the  number  which  could  be  raised  this  side  of  Green  Bay  is  too 
small  to  be  of  much  importance. 

I  from  the  first  doubted  the  expediency  of  calling  in  the  aid  of  the  friendly 
tribes,  and  so  expressed  myself  before  I  left  this  place  to  collect  the  Indians, 
though  in  obedience  to  orders  I  set  out  with  Mr.  Marsh  at  a  minute's  warning 
to  assemble  and  bring  them  to  this  place,  and  I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying 
that  we  performed  the  duty  as  promptly  as  it  could  have  been  done.  I  have 
always  considered  Indians,  to  be  the  most  troublesome  and  expensive  of  all 
allies,  at  the  same  time  that  their  services  can  be  least  relied  upon.  The  result 
of  this  expedition  is  an  additional  evidence  to  support  the  opinion. 

I  hope  the  next  Express  will  bring  us  the  intelligence  of  some  brilliant 
achievement  decisive  of  the  controverby.  Could  you  gain  so  much  time,  it 
would  give  me  great  pleasure  to  hear  from  you,  but  I  know  the  incessant 
fatigue  you  must  undergo,  and  the  constant  employment  of  your  time  required 
by  your  active  exertions.  Whenever  you  can,  please  write  me,  and  believe  me, 
most  truly,  Your  friend  and  obedient  servant, 

T.  P.  BURNETT. 

PRAIRIE  nu  CHIEN,  3d  July,  1832. 
Gen.   Henry  Dodge,  Fort  Union: 

The  undersigned  citizens  of  Prairie  du  Chien  have  witnessed  with  feelings  of 
high  respect  and  admiration  the  patriotic  exertions  which  you  have  made  for 
the  defense  of  our  frontier  against  the  cruelties  of  savage  warfare.  Fully 
appreciating  the  bold  and  energetic  course  you  have  pursued,  we  send  bv  the 
hands  of  Capt.  James  B.  Estes  a  double-barrelled  gun,  which  we  hope  you  will 
accept  as  a  small  testimony  of  the  high  estimation  in  which  we  hold  your 
character  as  an  officer  and  a  citizen. 

Your  obedient  servants, 

H.  L.  DOUSEMAN,  Jos.  M.  STREET, 

M.  BRISBOIS,  T.  P.    BURNETT, 

J.  BRISBOIS,  JEAN  CRUNET, 

M.  B.  W.  BRISBOIS,       WM.  M.  REED. 

Upon  returning  from  Galena,  Col.  Dodge  made  an  expedi 
tion  the  24th  of  June  to  the  Blue  Mounds,  where  two  men  had 
recently  fallen  into  an  ambush..  Edward  B.  Beouchard  related 
this  incident  of  himself: 

On  the  4th  of  June,  when  Capt.  James  Aubrey  was  killed,  I  started  to  get 
his  body,  and  asked  Lt.  Force  to  go  with  me:  but  he  refused,  and  I  told  him 
if  he  got  killed,  and  was  onlv  six  feet  off,  I  would  not  go  for  his  body.  When 
Force  ajid  Green  were  killed  on  the  2oth,  and  I  went  and  got  Green's  remains, 
and  brought  them  to  the  Fort,  they  asked  me  if  I  could  hold  spite  against  a 
dead  man.  I  replied  that  I  would  do  what  I  said,  whether  a  man  was  dead  or 
alive;  and  Lt.  Force's  body  laid  where  it  fell  for  four  days. 


44  HENRY  DODGE. 

Col.  Dodge  and  his  troops  found  Lt.  Force's  body,  which 
had  been  cruelly  mutilated,  and  buried  it.  They  reconnoitred 
the  country  to  the  head  of  Sugar  river,  but  discovered  no 
Sacs. 

On  the  28th  of  June  the  whole  army  of  Gen.  Atkinson  was 
set  in  pursuit  of  Black  Hawk.  It  consisted  of  400  regular 
infantry  and  about  2600  mounted  volunteers;  many  of  the 
volunteers  had  been  disabled  by  sickness  and  exposure.  The 
army  moved  up  the  Rock  river  country  in  three  divisions: 
Gen.  Atkinson  with  Gen.  Henry's  brigade  formed  the  right 
wing;  Gen.  Alexander's  command  formed  the  center,  Gen. 
Posey's  brigade,  with  Col.  Dodge's  battalion,  formed  the  left 
wing.  They  were  to  meet  at  Lake  Koshkonong. 

Col.  Dodge  rendezvoused  his  forces,  in  all  about  200  men,  at 
Fort  Hamilton,  where  he  was  joined  by  Posey's  brigade. 
Gen.  Atkinson  had  tendered  the  command  of  this  brigade  to  Col. 
Dodge;  but  Col.  Dodge  declined  it  in  an  address  to  the  brigade 
unless  elected  by  the  officers  and  men.  Major  John  Dement, 
of  the  Spy  battalion,  ist  brigade  Illinois  volunteers,  personally 
a  stranger  to  Col.  Dodge  at  the  time,  was  earnest  in  advoca 
ting  his  election.  "  He  will  lead  us  to  victory,"  he  said,  "and 
retrieve  for  us  the  honors  we  have  lost  at  Stillman's  Run  and 
at  Kellogg's  Grove."  The  election  resulted  in  Posey's  favor, 
by  one  company.  "In  our  march,"  says  Hon.  George  W. 
Jones,  who  was  aid  to  Col.  Dodge,  "  men  and  officers  of 
Posey's  brigade  told  me  that  they  voted  against  Col.  Dodge, 
and  for  their  old  neighbor  and  friend,  because  they  were 
assured  Col  Dodge  would  put  them  in  the  front,  in  places  of 
danger;  an  honor  I  told  them  Col.  Dodge  would  not  deprive 
his  command  of."  At  this  time  a  feeling  of  resentment  on 
the  part  of  Col.  Dodge  towards  Capt.  W.  S.  Hamilton  for 
disobedience  of  orders  with  reference  to  the  friendly  Indians 
was  aggravated:  Hon.  G.  W.  Jones  says: 

The  day  of  the  election,  as  \ve  rode  past  Fort  Hamilton,  Col.  Dodge  was 
hailed  by  Capt.  Hamilton.  The  Colonel,  at  my  thrice  repeated  request, 
stopped  his  horse  (Big  Black),  and,  as  Hamilton  approached,  sprang  oft",  and 
presented  Hamilton  with  the  butt  ends  of  his  two  pistols,  and  entreated  him  to 


HENRY  DODGE.  45 

take  choice,  that  the  qestion  might  be  settled  there  and  then  which  was  to  be 
commander.  Hamilton  at  once  threw  up  both  hands,  and  sitting  down  on  the 
hill-side  declined  to  fight.  I  urged  the  Colonel  to  remount,  which  he  did,  and 
we  rode  on  to  the  encampment  of  Gen.  Posev.1 

Col.  Dodge's  battalion  marched  with  the  left  wing  of  the 
army,  July  1-4,  by  way  of  the  Pecatonica  battle-field  and  Sugar 
River  Diggings  near  to  the  first  of  the  Four  Lakes,  where 
they  were  joined  by  White  Crow's  band;  thence  through 
almost  impassable  swamps  to  the  mouth  of  Whitewater,  July 
6th,  where  Black  Hawk  was  reported  to  be.  At  this  point  an 
express  from  Gen.  Atkinson  ordered  them  to  his  camp  on 
Bark  River.  Col.  Dodge  chafed  under  this  order  as  thwart 
ing  his  plans.  After  reaching  Gen.  Atkinson's  encampment,  the 
region  was  reconnoitred  by  scouts  in  a  fruitless  search  for 
Black  Hawk.  Many  believed  that  he  had  taken  to  the  swamps 
beyond  the  reach  of  the  army,  and  that  no  more  danger  was 
to  be  apprehended  from  him.  Gen.  Atkinson  built  block 
houses  where  the  village  of  Ft.  Atkinson  now  stands.  Gov 
ernor  Reynolds  and  a  number  of  Illinois  officers  did  not  believe 
there  would  be  any  fighting,  and  left  the  field  on  the  pth,  to 
return  home. 

The  army  was  now  short  of  provisions  from  losses  in 
swimming  rivers,  by  the  miring  of  horses  in  creeks  and 
swamps,  and  from  "waste  by  the  volunteers.  The  regulars 
took  better  care  of  their  rations,  and  were  not  in  want.  In 
this  juncture,  Gen.  Atkinson  ordered  Alexander's  and  Henry's 
brigades  and  Dodge's  battalion,  to  march  to  Ft.  Winnebago, 
a  distance  of  40  miles,  for  supplies,  with  verbal  instructions  to 
pursue  the  trail  of  the  enemy,  if  it  was  met  with  in  going  or 
returning.  At  Fort  Winnebago,  Col.  Dodge  secured  the 
co-operation  of  Pierre  Pauquette,  a  half-breed,  whom  he  had 

i  Hamilton  was  one  of  my  father's  captains  both  in  the  war  of  '27  and  '32. 
Although  they  had  some  unpleasant  personal  difficulties,  ephemeral  in  their 
nature,  my  brother,  sisters  and  myself  were  on  excellent  terms  with  him.  He 
was  one  of  the  most  interesting  and  clever  of  Wisconsin  pioneers,  and  in  many 
respects  a  most  remarkable  and  meritorious  man. — A.  C  Dodge  to  Cyrus 
Woodman,  July  j,  1883. 


46  HENRY  DOIXJK. 

known  as  an  interpreter,  and  a  dozen  Winnebagoes.  Getting 
new  information  as  to  the  whereabouts  of  the  enemy,  that  they 
had  moved  further  up  Rock  River,  Col.  Dodge  called  a 
council  of  his  officers  with  those  of  the  other  two  commands, 
and  proposed  to  return  by  a  circuit  in  that  direction.1  Gen. 
Henry  coincided,  but  Gen.  Alexander  advocated  a  return  by 
the  route  they  had  come,  as  pursuant  to  their  orders.  The 
result  was  that  Gen.  Alexander  returned  directly  with  the 
supplies  and  the  worn-down  horses,  while  Gen.  Henry  and 
Col.  Dodge  diverged  on  their  march  some  thirty  miles  to  the 
east. 

Col.  Dodge's  effective  force  was  now  reduced  to  one 
hundred  and  fifty  men;  Gen.  Henry's  to  about  four  hundred 
and  fifty.  At  the  Rapids  of  Rock  River  (now  Heustisforcl) 
they  found  a  few  emaciated  Winnebagoes,  who  reported  that 
the  Sacs  had  moved  up  to  Cranberry  Lake  (now  Horicon 
Lake,  Dodgci  Co.)  Encamping  for  the  night,  July  iSth,  they 
set  a  double  guard,  and  sent  Adjutants  Merriam  and  Wood- 
bridge,  with  Little  Thunder,  a  Winnebago  chief,  as  guide,  to 
carry  dispatches  to  Gen.  Atkinson.  But  after  going  eight  or 
ten  miles  the  dispatch  fell  upon  a  fresh  trail  of  the  enemy 
bearing  westward,  and  returned  to  camp  with  the  information. 
It  was  at  once  determined  to  pursue  this  trail  in  the  morning, 
and  advices  to  that  effect  were  sent  to  Gen.  Atkinson. 

Much  of  the  pursuit  was  over  swamps  and  morasses,  and 
through  tangled  thickets;  in  the  midst  of  which  the  soldiers 
were  drenched  with  heavy  rains.  Towards  evening  of  the 
second  day  of  the  pursuit,  July  20,  the  scouts  discovered  a  large 
body  of  Indians  near  the  Third  Lake,  who  fled  into  the  adjacent 
woods;  a  band  of  them  were  stretched  along  Catfish  Creek, 

i  I  was  there,  and  my  father,  1).  M.  Parkinson,  was  there,  and  commanded 
a  Com.xi'iy.  II  j  was  ;i  compeer  of  Col.  Dodge  and  Gen.  Uenrv,  and  a  warm 
personal  friend  of  both,  and  was  admitted  to  their  councils  upon  this  and  all 
other  occ  i->i:>n> ;  so  \\:is  Cap!.  Gentry,  to  whose  Company  I  then  belonged, 
My  father  informed  me  at  the  time  that  Col.  Dodge  was  the  suggester  and 
prime  mover  in  this  mittjr,  Gen.  Henry  assenting  to  and  approving  of  the 
course  at  once. — Peter  Parkinson,  Jr. 


A    Rear  guard. 

B    Horses  with  guard. 

CCC     Height  occupied   by    Gen. 

Dodge's  command,  and  from 

which  the  Indians  were   re 

pulsed. 

D  D    Col   Jones'  Regiment. 
E  E    Col.  Collins'  Regiment 
F  F  F    Heights  occupied  by  the  Indians  from  which 

they  were  driven  in  the  charge. 

Mound  occupied  by  the  Indian  commander. 

Firm  sandy  ground  and  ridges. 

Indian  camp. 


G 

HH 

J 


----      Indian  Trails. 


BATTLE  OF  WISCONSIN  HEIGHTS,  JULY  21,  1832. 


HENRY  DODGE.  47 

in  what  is  now  the  eastern  part  of  the  city  of  Madison;  they 
all  decamped  in  the  night.  Pursuit  was  resumed  early  the 
next  morning,  the  troops  passing  over  the  ground  now  occu 
pied  by  the  city  of  Madison.  After  a  march  of  about  thirty 
miles,  in  which  the  scouts  kept  up  a  running  fire,  the  main 
body  of  the  enemy  were  overtaken  upon  the  bluffs  of  the 
Wisconsin,  between  3  and  4  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  Col. 
Dodge  and  Major  Wm.  L.  P.  Ewing  with  their  commands 
were  in  %the  advance.  They  dismounted,  and  at  the  edge  of 
the  bluff  were  met  by  a  rally  of  the  enemy,  attacking  Capt. 
Dixon's  spy  company  which  was  then  in  the  front.  Here  the 
Indians  were  repulsed.  Gen.  Henry  soon  came  up,  and 
deployed  his  forces;  Col.  Collins'  regirftent  taking  position  on 
the  left,  Col.  Jones'  regiment  in  the  center,  leaving  Col.  Dodge 
on  the  right.  In  this  order  they  charged  the  enemy,  and 
drove  him  from  position  to  position.  In  the  midst  of  a  heavy 
rain  the  enemy  were  pursued  into  the  river  bottom,  when 
night  closed  upon  the  scene. 

In  the  morning  it  was  found  that  the  enemy  had  all  crossed 
the  Wisconsin  River.  Despatches  were  sent  to  Gen.  Atkin 
son.  Capt.  Estes  was  dispatched  to  Prairie  du  Chien  with 
the  following  letter  to  the  commandant  at  Ft.  Crawford,  Capt. 
Loomis: 

CAMP  WISCONSIN,  July  22,  1832. 

We  met  the  enemy  yesterday  near  the  Wisconsin  river,  and  opposite  the  old 
Sac  village,  after  a  close  pursuit  for  near  one  hundred  miles.  Our  loss  was 
one  man  killed  and  eight  wounded.  From  the  scalps  taken  by  the  Winneba- 
goes,  as  well  as  those  taken  by  the  whites,  and  the  Indians  carried  from  the 
field  of  battle,  we  must  have  killed  forty  of  them.  The  number  of  wounded 
is  not  known;  we  can  only  judge  from  the  number  killed  that  many  were 
wounded.  From  their  crippled  situation  I  think  we  must  overtake  them,  unless 
thev  descend  the  Wisconsin  by  water.  If  you  could  place  a  field-piece  imme 
diately  on  the  Wisconsin  that  would  command  the  river,  you  might  prevent 
their  escape  by  water. 

Gen.  Atkinson  will  arrive  at  the  Blue  Mounds  on  the  24th  with  the  regulars 
and  a  brigade  of  mounted  men.  I  will  cross  the  Wisconsin  to-morrow.  Should 
the  enemy  retreat  by  land,  he  will  probably  attempt  crossing  some  twenty 
miles  above  Prairie  du  Chien;  in  that  event  the  mounted  men  would  want 
some  boats  for  the  transportation  of  their  arms,  ammunition  and  provisions. 


48  HENRY    DOI><;I.. 

If  vou  could  procure  for  i.s  some  Mackinaw  boats  in  that  e\-ent,  as  well  a- 
some  provision  supplies,  it  would  greatly  facilitate  our  views.  Kxcusr  o-ivat 
haste.  Your  obedient  servant, 

II.  POIHJK, 
Col.  Commanding  Michigan  Mounted  Volunteers. 

Col.  Dodge  did  not  cross  the  Wisconsin  on  the  23d,  as  was 
originally  intended,  but  marched  to  the  Blue  Mounds,  looking 
after  supplies,  and  awaiting  the  arrival  of  Gen.  Atkinson.  The 
effective  force  of  t^ie  whole  army  now  numbered  about  1200 
men.  The  Indians  having  been  traced  several  miles  £own  the 
river,  the  troops  rendezvoused  at  Helena.  At  this  point 
some  pine  log  buildings  were  pulled  down,  and  made  into 
small  rafts,  on  which  slowly  and  with  difficulty  the  whole 
army  crossed  the  river  on  the  27th  and  28th.  On  the  next 
day  they  struck  the  trail  of  the  Indians,  and  for  four  days  they 
pursued  them  over  a  rough  and  hilly  country  to  the  Missis 
sippi,  near  the  Bad  Axe,  and  came  up  with  them  on  the 
morning  of  August  2d. 

The  order  of  battle  was  arranged  under  the  personal  super 
vision  of  Gen.  Atkinson.  Col.  Dodge's  squadron,  whose 
scouts  had  been  constantly  in  the  advance,  and  the  U.  S.  In 
fantry  under  Col.  Zachary  Taylor,  were  placed  in  the  front; 
the  Illinois  brigades  followed,  Posey  and  Alexander  on  the 
right,  Henry  on  the  left.  In  this  order  the  army  marched 
down  the  bluff  into  the  thickets  and  timber  of  .the  river  bot 
tom,  plunged  through  a  bayou,  and  in  a  few  minutes  met  the 
yells  of  the  enemy,  and  closed  with  them.  No  quarters  were 
asked;  none  were  taken  prisoners  but  squaws  and  children. 
The  troops  of  the  different  commands  vied  with  each  other  in 
gaining  positions  of  bravery  and  danger.  The  action  con 
tinued  for  three  hours,  the  Indians  being  driven  from  tree  to 
tree  and  from  one  hiding-place  to  another,  until  they  were 
utterly  routed  and  dispersed,  with  a  loss  on  their  part  of  150 
killed.  At  the  last  it  was  more  a  massacre  than  a  battle. 
Many  were  shot  down  in  the  river;  others  fell  into  the  hands 
of  their  hereditary  enemies,  the  Sioux. 

Gen.  Atkinson  reported  a  loss  among  his  troops  of  twenty- 


HENRY  DODGE.  49 

four  killed  and  wounded,  of  whom  six  were  in  Dodge's  bat 
talion,  a  larger  relative  proportion  than  under  any  other 
command.  In  the  progress  of  the  fight  positions  were  changed. 
Col!  Taylor  with  the  U.  S.  Infantry  and  Col.  Dodge  with  his 
squadron  in  following  the  rear  guard  of  the  enemy  were 
thrown  upon  the  extreme  right,  while  Gen.  Henry  gained  the 
front  with  his  brigade.  "Both  brave  officers,"  says  Wakefield, 
an  Illinois  historian,  who  was  in  the  engagement,  "  they  would 
have  gloried  in  being  in  the  front,  but  this  was  intended  by 
the  God  of  battles  for  our  beloved  Henry."  The  following 
order  was  issued  the  day  after  the  battle : 

HEADQUARTERS  IST  ARMY  CORPS  OF  THE  NORTHWESTERN  ARMY,  ) 
BANK  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI,  NEAR  BAD  AXE  RIVER,  August  3,  1832.  ) 

Order  No.  65. 

The  victory  achieved  by  the  volunteers  and  regular  troops  over  the  enemy 
yesterday  on  this  ground  affords  the  Commanding  General  an  opportunity  of 
expressing  his  approbation  of  their  brave  conduct.  The  whole  of  the  troops 
participated  in  the  honor  of  the  combat;  some  of  the  corps,  however,  were 
more  fortunate  than  others  iri  being  thrown  from  their  position  in  order  of 
battle  more  immediatelv  in  conflict  with  the  erremy;  these  were  Henry's 
Brigade,  Dodge's  Battalion,  the  Regular  Troops,  Leech's  Regiment  of  Posey's 
Brigade,  and  the  Spy  Battalion  of  Alexander's  Brigade, 

In  order  that  individual  merit  and  the  conduct  of  the  Corps  may  be  properlv 
represented  to  the  Department  of  War  and  the  General  commanding  the 
Northwestern  Army,  the  Commanding  General  of  this  division  directs  that 
commanding  officers  of  brigades  and  independent  corps  make  to  him  written 
reports  of  the  conduct  and  op2ration  of  their  respective  Commands  in  the 
action. 

By  order  of  BRIG.  GENERAL  ATKINSON. 

ALB.  S.  JOHNSTON,  A.  D.  C.  and  A.  Adt.  Gen'l. 

In  his  jealousy  for  the  fame  of  Gen.  Henry,  Governor 
Thomas  Ford,  in  his  History  of  Illinois,  ch.  V,  disparaged 
both  Gen.  Atkinson  and  Col.  Dodge.  The  truth  is,  that  they 
all  were  brave  men,  intent  upon  their  duty,  while  as  intimated 
in  the  above  order,  the  fortune  of  war,  and  their  own  earnest 
spirit  as  well,  gave  Dodge  and  Henry  foremost  positions  which 
they  sustained  with  honor.  There  was  a  perfect  understand 
ing  and  a  harmony  of  action  between  those  officers  from  the 
beginning.  Henry  was  the  younger.  His  father  had  fought 


50  HENRY  DODGE. 

under  Dodge  in  the  war  of  1812.  Appreciating  his  experience 
and  prowess  as  an  old  soldier  and  an  Indian-fighter,  Henry 
confided  in  Dodge's  skill  and  judgment,  and  deferred  to  him 
in  council  and  in  the  field.  He  was  immediately  appointed  a 
Captain  in  the  U.  S.  Rangers  under  Dodge,  with  the  rank  of 
first  Captain  in  that  battalion,  but  his  health  failing  he  left  the 
service,  and  went  to  New  Orleans  for  a  milder  climate,  and 
died  in  that  city,  March  4th,  1834.  Henry  County,  Iowa,  was. 
named  for  him. 

After  the  battle,  when  Gen.  Atkinson  met  Col.  Dodge  at 
Prairie  du  Chien,  he  threw  his  arms  around  him,  and  said  to 
him,  "Dodge,  you  have  saved  me;  you  have  dragged  me  on 
to  victory."  President  Jackson  had  been  impatient  with  the 
slowness  of  military  movements,  and  had  sent  word  to  Gen. 
Atkinson  that  he  must  bring  the  war  to  an  end  or  he  would 
remove  him. 

Early  in  the  battle  of  Bad  Axe,  Black  Hawk  and  the 
Prophet  fled,  and  attempted  flight  to  Canada.  After  the 
battle,  Col.  Dodge  called  Waukon-Decorra  to  him,  and  told 
him  that  their  Great  Father  at  Washington  wanted  the  big 
warriors  taken.  Parties  were  sent  in  search  of  them,  and 
they  were  captured  and  delivered  up  to  the  Indian  agent  at 
Prairie  du  Chien  on  the  27th  of  August.  Black  Hawk  said 
that  he  would  have  whipt  the  whites,  and  gone  where  he 
pleased  in  the  mining  country,  had  it  not  been  for  "Hairy 
Face"  (Col.  Dodge). 

In  the  course  of  a  discussion  in  the  U.  S.  Senate  the  follow 
ing  winter  upon  the  public  lands,  the  Hon.  Alexander  Buck- 
ner,  of  Missouri,  associated  the  name  of  Henry  Dodge  with 
that  of  George  Rogers  Clark  among  "the  gallant  sons  of  the 
west."  He  said,  January  I2th,  1883: 

Look  at  the  movements  of  the  troops  last  summer.  What  common  claim 
has  any  but  the  West  to  the  fame  of  the  heroic  Dodge,  of  whom  it  may  be 
*aid  that  he  was  born,  trained,  and  seasoned  in  all  the  hardships,  all  the  priva 
tions  and  dangers  of  the  West,  and  is  justly  entitled  to  a  share  in  all  her 
glories. 


HENRY  DODGE..  51 

The  Hon.  Samuel  McRoberts,  Senator  from  Illinois,  gave  a 
similar  testimony  in  the  Senate  on  the  25th  of  June,  1841. 

That  war  (of  1832)  came  from  a  race  of  men  who  do  not  precede  hostilities 
by  wordy  negotiations,  make  no  formal  declarations  of  the  purpose,  give  no 
other  notice  than  the  war-whoop  and  the  sound  of  the  rifle,  who  seldom  give 
-quarter,  and  who  count  their  victories  by  the  number  of  scalps  they  have 
taken.  The  gallant  men  of  the  Territory  came  to  the  rescue.  Gen.  Dodge 
organized  a  small  but  intrepid  corps,  who  took  the  field,  and,  as  far  as  possible, 
staid  the  plague,  until  the  volunteers  from  Illinois  and  a  few  companies  of  the 
army  could  be  brought  to  their  relief.  During  this  period  the  enemy  wavlaid 
.all  the  roads,  and  murdered  many  of  the  inhabitants.  One  incident  will  illus 
trate  the  character  of  Gen.  Dodge  and  his  followers.  The  enemy  came  to  the 
Pecatonica,  and  murdered  some  of  the  citizens.  Dodge  and  his  party  pursued 
them.  The  enemy,  finding  they  could  not  make  their  escape,  posted  them- 
•selves  for  battle.  Now  here  was  a  situation  to  test  the  courage  and  devotion 
of  any  man  to  his  country.  The  enemy  were  armed  with  the  rifle,  tomahawk, 
and  spear,  which  they  had  been  accustomed  to  use  all  their  lives.  They  had  a 
•decided  advantage  in  position,  and  were  enabled  to  have  their  usual  advantage, 
the  first  fire.  To  dislodge  them  a  charge  must  be  made  in  the  most  exposed  of 
all  possible  situations,  and,  from  the  number  and  desperation  of  the  enemy,'  at 
a  great  sacrifice  of  human  life.  In  such  a  situation  what  is  the  course  of 
Dodge  and  his  brave  associates?  They  nev^r  hesitate.  They  resolve  to  dis 
lodge  the  enemy,  or  perish  in  the  attempt.  They  dismount  from  their  horses, 
and,  headed  by  their  commander,  charged  the  enemy  on  foot.  They  received 
the  enemy's  fire  almost  at  the  muzzle  of  their  guns.  A  desperate  conflict 
•ensued.  After  each  party  had  delivered  its  fire,  it  became  a  personal  encoun 
ter  between  the  combatants.  The  storv  is  soon  told.  The  enemy  all  fell.  Not 
a  man  of  them  was  left  to  tell  the  tale.  I  met  Dodge  and  the  survivors  of  his 
party  a  few  days  afterward,  and  some  of  them  still  carried  upon  their  persons 
the  evidence  of  the  conflict.  A  leading  Whig  journal  of  Illinois  (the  Quincy 

Whig-')  says:  "As  one  of  the  brave  defenders  of  Wisconsin  in  times  that  tried 
the  courage  of  die  best  men,  Dodge  stands  deservedly  among  the  foremost. 

His  name,  his  fame,  his  public  acts,  are  interwoven  with  the  Territory." 

The  Hon.  Wm.  Medill,  member  of  Congress  from  Ohio, 
and  afterwards  Governor  of  that  State,  referring  to  those 
times  in  a  speech  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  April  25th, 
1842,  said: 

When  the  Western  frontiers  were  invaded  by  the  savage  hordes  of  the  wil 
derness,  and  the  progress  of  civilization  retarded  for  a  time  by  the  tomahawk 
and  scalping-knife,  who  was  it  that  exposed  his  life  and  endured  extraordinary 
hardships  in  defending  the  home  and  the  fireside  of  the  emigrant?  Who  was 
it  that  met  in  mortal  combat,  and  arrested  the  career  of  the  murderous  but 
brave  and  intrepid  Black  Hawk?  Who  commanded  the  volunteers  at  the 
memorable  battle  of  Wisconsin  Heights,  where  sustained  on  either  side  by  one 


52  HENRY  DODGK. 

of  his  own  vouthful  hut  gallant  sons  he  occupied  the  post  of  clanger,  and  \ar, 
quisled  a  superior  force  with  the  loss  of  a  single  man?  Who  led  on  the 
charge  at  Bad  A\.\  ,i;i.l  -li.-d  such  lustiv  upon  the  valor  of  his  countrymen  at 
1'ecatonica.  where  not  a  single  man  of  the  enemy  survived  to  relate  the  inci- 
dents  of  the  conflict?  The  name  of  General  Dodge  is  identified  with  the 
historv  and  glory  of  the  West,  and  will  ever  be  held  in  grateful  remembrance 
hv  a  people  whom  his  chivalry  and  valor  have  defended  from  crueltv  and 
death. 

The  Hon.  John  Reynolds,  Governor  of  Illinois  in  1832,  who 
was  with  the  troops  of  that  State  in  the  Black  Hawk  Warr 
and  afterwards  member  of  Congress  from  that  State,  related 
in  the  House  of  Representatives,  on  the  pth  day  of  July., 
1842,  the  same  incidents  mentioned  by  Senator  McRoberts; 
he  says  of  Henry  Dodge: 

His  character  and  standing  is  -well-known  in  the  West  and  throughout  the 
country.  I  have  been  intimately  acquainted  with  his  career  for  more  than 
forty  years.  He  was  born  in  the  West,  and  has  by  the  force  of  native  intellect 
and  energy  of  character  sustained  himseli  through  various  difficulties  and 
trials  incident  to  the  settlement  of  a  new  country.  lie  has  by  merit  raised 
himself  to  a  pinnacle  of  fame,  which  not  frequently  falls  to  the  lot  of  anv  man 
to  attain.  He  sustained  well  in  the  Black  Hawk  War  the  high  standing  he 
had  previously  acquired  as  a  military  man. 

NOTE. —  We  are  indebted  to  the  Hon.  George  W.  Jones, 
under  date  of  Nov.  25th,  1889,  for  the  following  additional 
particulars  of  events  referred  to  in  this  article : 

Mr.  St.  Vrain  was  murdered  by  a  war  party  some  thirty  miles  east  of  Galena, 
when  on  his  way,  under  Gen.  Atkinson's  orders,  to  Rock  Island  from  Dixon, 
via  Galenti,  with  six  other  men,  one  of  whom,  my  worth v  and  honored  friend, 
Frederick  Stahl,  is  now  living  at  Galena. 

Mv  friend,  Hon.  Thomas  McKnight,  then  the  U.  S.  Agent  of  the  Lead 
Mines  at  Galena,  afterwards  Receiver  of  Public  Monies  at  Dubnque,  sent  a 
message  to  me  at  mv  then  residence  and  fort  at  Sinsinawa  Mound,  that  mv 
brother-in-law  had  either  been  killed  or  taken  prisoner  by  the  Indians.  I  im 
mediately  mounted  my  horse,  in  my  buckskin  hunting  shirt,  Kentucky  jeans 
pantaloons,  and  put  out  for  the  rescue  of  mv  brother-in-law  and  his  compan 
ions,  having  my  double-barrelled  gun,  well. loaded  with  buck-shot,  a  holster  of 
pistols,  and  two  in  mv  belt,  with  a  bowie-knife. 

I  reached  Galena  several  hours  after  the  Cavalry  Company  of  Capt.  Steph- 
enson  had  left  for  the  scene  of  murder  or  captivity.  Contrary  to  the  entreaty 
of  my  friends,  Capt.  James  May",  in  particular,  Mr.  McKnight,  Major  Charles 
S.  llempstead,  and  others,  I  followed  on  alone,  and  overtook  the  troop  of 
horse  some  25  or  30  miles  east  of  Galena,  where  I  also  found  Col.  Dodge  with  his 


HENRY  DODGE.  53 

mining  regiment.  In  the  course  of  the  day  the  mutilated  body  of  Mr.  St. 
Vrain  was  found  by  myself;  Col.  Dodge  and  I  were  the  only  persons  there 
who  had  known  him.  His  head,  feet,  and  hands  had  been  cut  off,  and  with  his 
heart  and  the  most  of  the  flesh  of  his  body  had  been  taken  off  by  the  Indians 
as  trophies  of  war,  and  as  food,  he  being  a  pretty  fat  man.  We  were  directed 
to  his  corpse  by  the  turkey  buzzards  which  we  saw  flying  and  circling  around 
at  a  considerable  distance.  I  knew  him  from  the  color  of  his  black  hair,  some 
of  which  was  strewn  around  as  the  Indians  scalped  him,  his  blue  dress  coatr 
swallow-tailed,  through  the  large  collar  of  which,  then  the  style,  the  bullet 
which  had  broken  his  neck  had  passed.  His  pocket-book  and  papers  and  the 
silver  and  gold  money  were  untouched  in  his  pockets.  His  head,  heart,  feet 
and  hands  were  taken  to  the  headquarters  of  the  Indians,  then  near  LakeKosh- 
konong,  and  used  in  their  war  dances;  one  brave  having  his  head  swung 
between  his  knees,  two  others  a  hand  each,  and  two  the  feet,  to  brandish.  The 
heart  was  cut  into  small  pieces,  and  given  to  the  young  boys  to  swallow,  he  to 
be  declared  the  bravest  who  could  gulp  down  the  largest  piece. 

Mr.  St.  Vrain  rode  a  splendid  horse,  and  could  easily  have  made  a  good 
escape,  but  he  tried  hard  to  hold  his  horse  in  and  turn  him  around,  but  the 
veiling  and  warwhoops  and  screaming  of  the  pursuing  Indians  on  horseback, 
some  fortv  of  them,  so  frightened  his  horse  and  the  horses  of  his  companions 
as  to  make  them  unmanageable.  The  most  of  these  particulars  I  got  from 
Madame  Mayotte,1  a  French  interpretess,  whom  I  saw  when  Col.  Dodge  res 
cued  the  Hall  young  ladies. 

A  few  days  after  that  meeting  with  Col.  Dodge  and  his  command,  he  sent 
his  valiant  son,  Henry  L.,  and  his  adjutant,  W.  W.  Woodbridge,  to  my  resi 
dence  and  fort  at  Sinsinawa  Mound,  to  request  me  to  become  his  aid-de-camp, 
he  having  been  ordered  by  the  Commander-in-Chief,  G.en.  Atkinson,  to  take 
command  of  Gen.  Posey's  brigade  of  Illinois  Volunteers,  then  encamped  near 
Hamilton's  fort.  Capt.  H.  L.  Dodge  and  Adjutant  Woodbridge  reached  my 
house  in  the  night,  after  a  hard  day's  ride  from  Dodgeville.  The  next  morn 
ing  at  daylight  I  gladly  went  off  with  them,  accoutred  as  before,  to  accept 
the  highest  and  most  responsible  office  I  had  ever  expected  to  fill,  and  under 
him  whom  I  had  loved  from  my  childhood.  Col.  Dodge  was  waiting  for  me 
to  accompany  him  to  take  command  of  some  1,500  volunteers  from  Southern 
Illinois.  He  was  in  his  buckskin,  sassafras  tanned,  hunting  shirt,  and  Ken 
tucky  jeans  pants,  just  like  my  own.  As  soon  as  I  entered  his  log  cabin  resi 
dence,  having  but  one  window,  and  no  plank  but  a  dirt  floor,  he  welcomed  me 
heartily,  and  said:  "  I  have  sent  for  you  to  become  my  aid-de-camp,  because 
I  have  unbounded  confidence  in  your  friendship,  bravery  and  honor,  as  I  had 
in  your  learned  and  brave  father,  your  brothers,  and  your  brothers-in-law,  Hon. 
John  and  Judge  Andrew  Scott,  all  of  whom  served  under  me  in  the  war  with 
Great  Britain  and  their  Indian  allies,  in  and  on  the  frontiers  of  Missouri  Terri 
tory,  in  the  war  of  1812.  Your  venturing  alone  through  the  wilderness  in 
search  of  Mr.  St.  Vrain  and  party,  was  a  hazardous  undertaking;  but  it  grati 
fied  me." 

i  A  half  breed,  very  popular  with  her  tribe,  the  Winnebagoes.  Mrs.  Adele 
P.  Gratiot's  Narrative,  in  Wis.  Coll.,  x.  267,  269. 


54  HKNUV   DOIX;I:. 

On  our  arrival  at  the  encampment.  Col.  Dodge  refused  to  assume  command 
unless  the  volunteers  would  elect  him  as  their  commander,  over  their  own 
General;  although  Col.  Davenport,  of  the  U.  S.  Army,  was  present,  under 
orders  from  Gen.  Atkinson  to  make  the  transfer  or  substitution  in  the  com 
mand.  All  of  the  volunteers  were  entire  strangers  to  Col.  Dodge.  At  his 
request  they  were  drawn  up  into  a  hollow  square,  when  he  addressed  them, 
and  was  followed  by  Gen.  Posey,  who  appealed  to  his  old  neighbors  not  to 
desert  and  disgrace  him.  His  entreaties  had  the  desired  effect. 

As  Col  Dodge  and  I  rode  up  to  Posey 's  encampment,  he  pointed  out  to  me 
the  clump  of  hazle  and  other  bushes  in  which  those  thirteen  Indians  were  con 
cealed,  waiting  for  him,  as  he  rode  alone  on  his  way  to  Fort  Hamilton,  a  short 
time  before.  That  clump  was  in  the  angle  of  a  right  angle  triangle,  the  hvpoth- 
enuse  of  which  he  took  to  save  time,  instead  of  keeping  on  the  big  wagon 
road. 

I  attended  the  treaty  made  by  General  Win  field  Scott  on  the  Mississippi 
river  directly  opposite  Rock  Island,  and  procured  through  my  influence  with 
George  Davenport,  Antoine  LeClaire,  and  the  then  made  chief  of  the  Sac 
and  Fox  Nation,  Keokuk,  two  thousand  acres  of  land  as  an  indemnitv  to  the 
widow  and  children  of  Mr.  Felix  St.  Vrain. 


III. 

MAJOR  U.  S.  MOUNTED  RANGERS,  1832-3. 

While  the  Black  Hawk  war  was  raging,  Congress  author 
ized  the  creation  of  a  battalion  of  Mounted  Rangers,  by  Act  of 
June  1 5th,  1832,  for  the  better  protection  of  the  frontiers.  In 
supporting  the  measure  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  Hon. 
Duncan,  afterwards  Governor  of  Illinois,  said  that  about  Joseph 
the  first  proposition  he  ever  submitted  for  the  consideration  of 
Congress  was  one  for  raising  eight  companies  of  mounted 
gunmen  for  this  service  in  1828;  he  believed  that  all  the 
distress  and  bloodshed  that  had  just  been  heard  of  in  Illinois 
would  have  been  avoided  if  Congress  had  adopted  that  plan; 
no  number  of  U.  S.  soldiers  on  foot  could  restore  confidence 
to  the  citizens  residing  in  that  country;  families  who  .have 
witnessed  the  shocking  scenes  which  had  just  been  acted  on 
the  frontier  would  never  return  to  their  homes  until  an  efficient 
force  was  raised  for  their  protection;  he  believed  we  should 
hear  of  no  more  Indian  wars  after  this  force  was  organized 
and  placed  in  service.  The  President  appointed  Henry  Dodge 


HENRY  DODGE.  55 

Major  of  the  battalion.  His  commission  was  brought  to  him 
by  express  at  the  mouth  of  the  Whitewater  river,  when  at  the 
head  of  his  command  in  line  of  battle. 

As  soon  as  the  Black  Hawk  war  was  over,  a  Rangers' 
camp  was  established  on  the  Mississippi  near  the  mouth  of 
Rock  river.  The  cholera,  which  had  been  brought  from  the 
seaboard  with  the  troops  under  General  Scott,1  broke  out  in 
the  camp,  and  raged  for  three  weeks.  Thirteen  of  the 
Rangers  died,  and  were  buried  in  the  woods  without  coffins. 
Upon  this  outbreak  of  the  epidemic  General  Scott  issued  the 
following  order: 

ASSISTANT  ADJUTANT  GENERAL'S  OFFICE,  / 
FORT  ARMSTRONG,  August  28th.  1832.  £ 
Order  No.  id. 

1.  The  cholera  has  made  its  appearance  on   Rock  Island.     The  two  first 
cases  were  brought  by  mistake  from  Capt.  Ford's  company  of  U.  S.  Rangers; 
one  of  these  died   yesterday,   the   other   is   convalescent.      A    second   death 
occurred  this  morning  in  the   hospital   in   Fort  Armstrong.     The  man  was  of 
the  4th  Infantrv,  and  had  been  some   time   there   under  treatment  for  debility. 
The  Ranger  now  convalescent  was  in  the  same  hospital  with  him  for  sixteen 
hours  before  a  cholera  hospital  could  be  established  outside  the  camp  and  Fort. 

2.  It  is   believed  that   all   these    men    were   of    intemperate   habits.      The 
Ranger,  who  is  dead,  it  is  known,  generated  the  disease  within  him  by  a  fit  of 
intoxication. 

3.  This  disease  having  appeared  among  the  Rangers,  and  on  this  Island,  all 
in  commission  are  called  upon  to  exert  themselves  to  the  utmost  to  stop  the 
spread  of  the  calamity. 

4.  Sobriety,  cleanliness  of  person,  cleanliness  of  camp  and  quarters,  together 
with  care  in  the  preparation  of  the  men's  messes,  are  the  grand  preventives. 
No  neglect  under  these  important  heads  will  be  overlooked  or  tolerated. 

5.  In  addition  to  the  foregoing,  the   Senior  Surgeon  present  recommends 
the  use  of  flannel    shirts,    flannel    drawers   and    woolen    stockings;    but    the 
Commanding    General,    who    has    seen    much    of    disease,    knows    that   it   is 
intemperance  which    in    the    present    state   of   the   atmosphere  generates  and 
spreads  the  calamity,  and  that,  when  once  spread,  good  and  temperate  men 
are  likely  to  take  the  infection. 

6.  He  therefore  peremptorily  commands  that  every  soldier  or  Ranger,  who 
shall  be  found  drunk  or  sensibly  intoxicated  after  the  publication  of  this  order, 
be  compelled,  as  soon  as  his  strength  will  permit,   to  dig  a  grave  at  a  suitable 

i  Of  about  fifteen  hundred  officers  and  men  of  the  regular  troops  ordered 
to  the  northwestern  frontier,  not  less  than  two  hundred  died  by  the  cholera. 
Report  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  Nov.  25,  1832. 


56  HENRY  DODGE. 

burving  place  large  enough  for  his  own   reception,   as  such  grave  cannot  fail 
soon  to  be  wanted  for  the  drunken  man  himself  or  some  drunken  companion. 

7.  This  Order  is  given,  as  well  to  serve  for  the  punishment  of  drunkenness 
as  to  spare  good  and  temperate  men  the  labor  of  digging  graves  for  their 
worthless  companions. 

S.  The  sanitary  regulations  now  in  force  respecting  communications 
between  the  camp  near  the  mouth  of  Rock  river  and  other  camps  and  posts 
in  the  neighborhood  are  revoked.  [They  had  provided  for  sending  all  the 
sick  to  the  hospital  on  Rock  Island].  Col.  Eustis,  however,  whose  troops  are 
perfectly  free  from  cholera,  will  report  to  the  Commanding  General  whether 
he  believes  it  for  the  safety  of  his  command  that  these  regulations  should  be 
renewed.  By  order  of  MAJOR  GENERAL  SCOTT, 

P.  H.  GALT,  Ass't  Adjutant  General. 

At  this  time  there  were  three  Sacs  confined  in  the  military 
prison  at  Fort  Armstrong  on  a  charge  of  having  been  parties 
to  a  murderous  attack  upon  a  Menominee  camp  near  Prairie 
du  Chien,  on  the  3ist  of  July,  1831.  On  account  of  the 
cholera  Gen.  Scott  set  them  at  liberty,  taking  their  promise  to 
return  upon  the  exhibition  of  a  certain  signal  to  be  hung  from 
the  limb  of  a  dead  tree  at  an  elevated  point  of  the  island  when 
the  epidemic  should  be  over.  They  kept  their  word,  and 
reported  themselves  upon  the  exhibition  of  the  signal.  They 
were  again  placed  on  parole,  and  subsequently  released.1 

ASST.  ADJT.  GENERAL'S  OFFICE,  NORTHWESTERN  ARMY,  j 
Special  Order:  ROCK  ISLAND,  September  6th,    8  2.  \ 

The  General  commanding  directs  the  use  of  the  following  paroles  and 
countersigns  for  the  ensuing  eight  days: 

farole.  Countersign. 

1832,  Sept.     7.     Csesar.  Gaul. 

S.     Hannibal.  Capua. 

9.     Napoleon.  Corsica. 

10.  Desaix.  Marengo. 

11.  Saladin.  Palestine. 

12.  Hamlet.  Denmark. 

13.  Atkinson.  Bad  Axe. 

14.  Dodge.  Quisconsin. 
By  order  of  MAJOR  GENERAL  SCOTT, 

R.  BACHE,S  Ass't  Adjutant  General. 
To  MAJOR  HENRY  DODGE, 
Commanding  Battalion  U.  S.  Rangers, 
Camp  .on  Rock  River. 

1  Autobiography  of  Lt.  General  Scott,  Chap,  xviii. 

2  Richard  Bache  was  a  descendant  of  Benjamin  Franklin. 


HENRY  DODGE.  57 

Major  Dodge  was  present  at  the  treaty  made  by  General 
Scott  and  Governor  Reynolds  with  the  Winnebagoes,  on  Rock 
Island,  on  the  i5th  of  September  and  at  the  request  of  those 
Indians  acted  as  their  friend  and  adviser  in  the  Council.  Writ 
ing  a  number  of  years  afterward,  Gen.  Scott  spoke  of  that 
occasion  and  of  the  course  of  Henry  Dodge  in  the  Black 
Hawk  war,  in  the  following  manner: 

In  the  Black  Hawk  war  Gen.  Dodge  displayed,  as  was  generally  acknowl 
edged,  the  greatest  vigor  in  pursuit,  and  prowess  in  conflict  with  the  Indians. 
After  Gen.  Atkinson's  battle  of  the  Bad  Axe,  the  Western  Army  came  under 
mv  immediate  command,  and  I  know  that  Gen.  Dodge  was  held  ill  the  highest 
dread  bv  both  the  enemy  and  their  secret  abettors,  the  Winnebagoes.  Yet,  at 
the  treaty  held  with  the  latter,  Gen.  Dodge  was  chosen  as  their  councillor,  and 
it  gave  me  great  delight  to  witness  the  zeal  and  humanity  he  displayed  in 
protecting  their  interests,  a  trait,  in  my  humble  judgment,  as  honorable  to  him 
as  his  victorious  blade.  I  was  upon  the  whole  deeply  impressed  with  his 
merits  and  have  not  since  doubted  that  according  to  their  merits,  or  demerits, 
he  will  ever  be  found  the  protector  or  punisher  of  the  Indians  about  him.1 

He  was  also  present  at  the  "treaty  of  peace,  friendship,  and 
cession,"  made  on  the  2ist  of  September  with' the  Sacs  and 
Foxes,  upon  the  site  of  the  present  city  of  Davenport.  His 
signature  was  appended  as  a  witness  to  both  treaties.  These 
treaties  were  of  great  historical  significance  to  the  future  State 
of  Iowa.  That  with  the  Winnebagoes  granted  to  them  what 
was  then  known  as  the  "Neutral  Ground,"  in  what  is  now 
Northern  Iowa,  in  lieu  of  lands  they  had  long  occupied  on  the 
east  side  of  the  Mississippi,  south  and  east  of  the  Wisconsin 
river  and  of  Fox  river  of  Green  Bay.  By  the  treaty  with  the 
Sacs  and  Foxes,  those  confederated  tribes  ceded  to  the  U.  S. 
"a  tract  of  the  Sac  and  Fox  country  bordering  on  the  invaded 
frontier,  more  than  proportional  to  the  numbers  of  the  hostile 
band  that  had  been  conquered  and  subdued,"  viz.,  a  strip  of 
land  on  the  east  side  of  the  Mississippi,  'about  two  hundred 
miles  ,in  length,  extending  from  the  boundary  line  of  the  State 
of  Missouri  on  the  south  to  the  "Neutral  Ground"  on  the 
north,  and  ranging  from  fifty  to  seventy-five  miles  in  breadth, 
containing  about  six  million  acres  of  land;  and  they  agreed  to 

i      Letter  of  Winfield  Scott  to  A.  C.  Dodge,  Feb.  9th,  1841. 


58  HKNRY    I)OD*;K. 

remove  from  the  ceded  country  on  or  before  the  first  day  of 
June,  1833,  with  the  express  understanding  that  they  were 
not  to  reside,  plant,  fish,  or  hunt  on  any  portion  of  it  after  that 
date.  Thus  that  date  became  memorable  in  Iowa  history 
as  the  day  in  which  a  portion  of  her  territory  first  became 
open  to  occupation  and  settlement  by  the  American  people. 

The  battalion  of  mounted  Rangers  consisted  of  six  com 
panies,  three  of  which  (Captains  James  D,  Henry,  Benjamin 
V.  Beekes,  and  Jesse  B.  Browne1)  were  assigned  by  Major 
General  SQOU  to  the  Northwestern  frontier,  to  range  between 
the  Wabash  river,  Chicago,  Ft.  Winnebago,  and  the  mouth  of 
the  Wisconsin  river,  under  the  immediate  instructions  of  Major 
Dodge.  The  other  companies  (Captains  Lemuel  Ford,  Jesse 
Bean,  and  Nathan  Boone1)  were  ordered  to  Fort  Gibson,  on 
the  Arkansas  river,  for  the  protection  of  the  Southwestern 
frontier.  The  circumstances  and  discipline  of  the  service  are 
explained  in  the  following  orders  of  Major  Dodge: 

RANGERS  CAMP  NEAR   ROCK   ISLAND,  £ 
September   j^d,   1832.  \ 
Order  No.  9. 

Capt.  Browne  will  march  his  company  from  his  present  encampment  to  the 
vicinity  of  Danville,  Illinois.  He  is  permitted  to  make  a  proper  selection  of  a 
position  for  erecting  suitable  buildings  for  the  use  of  his  officers  and  men  for 
the  next  winter.  In  the  choice  of  this  position  he  will  select  the  most  suitable 
place  for  fuel,  as  well  as  forage  for  the  horses;  it  being  an  object  of  the  first 
importance  that  the  corn  and  forage  should  be  as  cheap  as  possible. 

The  greatest  respect  is  to  be  paid  to  the  private  rights  of  citizens.  The 
Rangers  were  intended  for  the  defence  and  protection  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
frontiers,  and  it  is  strictly  enjoined  on  each  officer  and  Ranger  not  to  trespass 
on  the  private  rights  of  any  citizen  without  paving  a  just  equivalent  for  what 
mav  be  received. 

Gambling  and  drinking  to  intoxication  is  prohibited.  The  Captain  com 
manding  will  order  court  martials  for  the  trial  of  those  found  intoxicated,  and 
punish  them  without  delay;  as  well  as  prevent  gambling  in  his  camp. 

Capt.  Browne  will  report  to  me  monthlv,   to  be  directed   to   Mineral  Point, 

i  Capt.  Browne  was  a  member  from  Lee  Countv  of  the  Council  of  the  first 
four  Legislative  Assemblies  of  Iowa  Territory,  of  the  II.  of  R.  of  the  8th 
Legislative  Assembly,  and  of  the  H.  of  R.  and  Speaker  of  the  House,  of  the 
First  General  Assembly  of  the  State.  Capt.  Boone  was  a  son  of  Daniel 
Boone,  the  Kentucky  pioneer.  A  sketch  of  their  lives  is  in  the  Annals  of 
Iowa,  July,  1872,  pp  196,  226. 


HENRY  DOD<;I;.  59 

Michigan  Territory,  the   strength   and   condition  of  his  company,  as  to  anus, 
ammunition,  provisions,  as  well  as  the  state  and  condition  of  his  horses. 

The  Commanding  Officer  of  the  Rangers  expects  that  each  officer  and 
Ranger  will  be  prompt  and  diligent  in  the  discharge  of  his  duty.  The  govern 
ment  intends  this  corps  as  the  vanguard  for  the  frontier.  This  high  expecta 
tion  must  not  be  disappointed. 

VAXDALIA,  ILL.,  October  i3th,  1832. 
Capt.   Jesse  Bro^vne, 

Commanding  a  Company  of  U.  S.  Rangers: 

I  have  this  day  received  a  letter  from  His  Excellency,  Governor  Reynolds, 
stating  that  the  Pottawattamie  Indians  had  assumed  an  imposing  and  threaten 
ing  attitude  on  the  northern  frontier  of  Illinois.  From  the  pressing  manner  the 
Governor  writes  me  on  this  subject,  you  will  without  delay  march  your  com 
pany  from  the  vicinity  of  Danville  to  the  northern  frontier  of  this  State.  You 
will  range  the  country  from  Ottawa  at  the  mouth  of  Fox  river  on  the  Illinois 
river,  so  as  to  completely  cover  the  settlements  on  Beaver  creek  in  the  coun 
ties  of  Putnam  and  La  Salle.  You  will  order  the  Pottawattamies  out  of  the 
settlements,  and  drive  them  out  of  the  range  of  the  settlements,  if  they  refuse 
to  go.  You  will  select  such  a  position  on  Bureau  as  will  enable  you  to  procure 
corn  and  forage  for  your  horses.  Your  assistant  commissary  will  make  the 
necessary  purchases  for  the  supply  of  the  companv,  unless  the  company 
should  find  it  more  convenient  to  furnish  themselves.  You  are  not  to 
make  an  attack  on  the  Pottawattamies  unless  they  should  make  an  attack  on 
the  frontiers.  Should  they,  however,  shed  a  drop  of  white  blood,  you  will  not 
hesitate  to  kill  the  offenders,  their  aiders  and  abettors.  Should  the  Indians 
leave  that  frontier,  and  the  minds  of  the  inhabitants  be  quieted,  you  will  return 
to  your  winter  quarters  near  Danville.  You  will  exercise  your  own  judgment 
as  to  the  proper  time  to  leave  the  frontier,  which  wall  be  governed  wholly  by 
the  attitude  assumed  bv  the  Indians. 

Early  in  1833  Henry  Dodge  visited  Washington.  Regarded 
as  the  hero  of  the  Black  Hawk  war,  he  was  received  with 
marked  attention  and  honor.  President  Andrew  Jackson 
greeted  him  with  assurances  of  high  appreciation  and  esteem. 
Senator  Buckner,  of  Missouri,  complimented  him  in  the  Senate 
chamber,  as  already  quoted.  Those  were  the  squally  days  of 
nullification  in  South  Carolina.  Gen.  Scott  had  been  ordered 
to  Charleston,  also  ships  of  war,  and  the  President  had  signi 
fied  his  determination,  if  matters  grew  worse,  to  appoint 
Henry  Dodge  Marshal  of  South  Carolina,  to  insure  the  execu 
tion  of  the  laws  of  the  United  States  in  that  State.  The  fol 
lowing  letter  to  Henry  Dodge,  from  his  half-brother,  Lewis 
F.  Linn,  M.  D.,  who,  upon  the  death  of  Mr.  Buckner  by 


60  HENRY  DODGE. 

cholera  the   next   summer,   succeeded    him    as   Senator  from 
Missouri,  relates  to  this  period: 

SAINTK  GKNKYIKVK,   February    151)1,    1833. 

l)r..\K  BROTHKR: — I  had  written  vou  a  few  days  before  the  reception  of 
your  letter  announcing  your  arrival  at  Washington.  It  is  needless  for  me  to 
sav  ho\v  much  I  was  gratified  at  the  friendly  and  distinguished  manner  of  vour 
reception  by  our  venerable  and  truly  great  President,  so  every  way  qualified  to 
judge  of  the  relative  merit  of  men.  How  contemptible  his  revilers  must  feel 
on  seeing  him  every  moment  growing  in  greatness  and  increasing  in  the  con 
fidence  and  affection  of  the  American  people!  Time,  you  know,  is  an  indolent 
old  fellow  not  fond  of  burthens,  and,  as  he  drives  along  the  stream  into  the 
ocean  of  eternity,  freighted  with  the  reputation  of  men,  is  ever  and  anon 
engaged  in  selecting  from  his  overloaded  bark  such  as  do  not  deserve  immor 
tality,  and  casting  them  into  oblivion*.  Among  the  retained  will  ever  be  found 
the  name  of  Andrew  Jackson. 

Your  chivalrous  conduct  during  the  late  Indian  war  has  truly  placed  vou  on 
elevated  ground,  from  whence  you  will  be  enabled  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  com 
ing  events,  and  turn  them  to  your  advantage  and  to  that  of  our  common 
country.  It  would  be  a  sincere  source  of  regret  to  find  in  our  domestic- 
troubles  you  might  be  compelled  to  shed  American  blood,  but  if  stern  necessity 
requires  it  I  know  your  valor  will  be  tempered  with  humanity.  In  a  govern 
ment  like  ours,  made  by  the  people  and  for  the  people,  where  the  public  will  is 
the  supreme  arbiter,  where  the  great  mass  of  the  people  seldom  err  in  judg 
ment,  every  friend  to  his  country,  nay,  every  friend  to  liberty  throughout  the 
world,  may  still  entertain  "a  reasonable  hope  that  'the  difficulty  with  South 
Carolina  will  yet  be  arranged  without  a  resort  to  force:  but  should  it  be  other 
wise  I  entertain  no  fear  for  the  result,  and  none  that  you  will  conduct  your 
self,  if  engaged,  in  such  a  wav  as  to  benefit  your  country,  and  add  to  vour  well- 
earned  reputation. 

In  accordance  with  your  wish  I  will  write  Col.  Buckner,  happy  if  anv  little 
influence  I  may  possess  could  be  of  service  to  you;  but  I  doubt  much  if  he  has 
weight  at  Washington.  You  know  the  President,  and,  knowing  him,  you  can 
judge  whether  his  wavering  course  heretofore  is  likely  to  gain  him  the  esteem 
of  General  Jackson,  whose  judgment  is  so  unerring  as  regards  men  ;  in  fact. 
his  election  was  the  result  of  a  singular  combination  of  circumstances,  most  of 
which  Col.  Benton  is  acquainted  with.  I  might  have  been  in  his  place,  if  I 
had  not  disdained  to  be  elected  by  my  political  opponents;  even  if  I  was  con 
sidered  of  sufficient  importance  to  be  bid  for.  I  had  to  choose  between  him 
and  Wells,  and  I  preferred  Buckner,  knowing  that  the  southern  part  of  the 
State  had  in  some  measure  been  overlooked  heretofore.  I  must  sav  he  has 
shown  every  disposition  to  befriend  me  since.  His  subsequent  opposition  to 
Col.  Benton  is,  I  presume,  part  of  the  price  he  had  to  pay  the  Clay  men  for 
their  support.  In  this  I  was  completely  deceived,  or  he  would  not  have 
received  my  vote. 

I  am  aware  of  the  many  virtues  of  Gen.  Ashley,  of  his  sterling  good  sense, 
and  of  his  sincere  unfeigned  friendship  for  you;  but,  my  dear  brother,  Col. 


HENRY  DODGE.  61 

Benton  is  the  only  man  Missouri  ever  had  in  Congress  whose  splendid  talents, 
unwavering  purpose  of  soul,  and  expanded  views  entitled  him  to  the  character 
of  a  great  man.  It  would  not  surprise  me  to  see  him  President.  At  present  I 
view  Richard  M.  Johnson  as  the  only  man  that  stands  between  him  and  Yice- 
President.  In  support  of  him  last  summer,  patriotism  and  personal  regard 
were  combined  to  induce  me  to  contribute  my  mite  toward  his  success.  He 
ever  to  me  manifested  a  sincere  friendship  for  you,  and  for  myself  I  owe  him 
many  acts  of  kindness. 

My  constitution  is  much  worn  out  by  sickness  and  a  harrassing  profession; 
my  head  is  tolerably  well  sprinkled  with  grav  hairs,  great  muscular  debilitv 
from  palpitation  of  the  heart,  though  I  weigh  what  my  father  did  when  he 
died,  180  pounds.  I  endeavor  to  fulfil  mv  duty  to  my  profession,  country, 
friends,  and  family,  and  will  try  to  live  without  fear  and  die  without  reproach. 
After  mv  time  as  Commissioner  expires,  I  would  be  pleased  to  get  some  ap 
pointment  for  which  I  might  be  qualified,  that  would  relieve  me  from  this 
unfortunate  profession  of  mine  to  be  looking  always  on  man  as  an  object  of 
affliction  and  sorrow,  to  be  compelled  to  examine  him  by  piecemeal,  every 
tendon,  muscle,  bone,  nerve,  and  organ,  but  worst  of  all  to  be  compelled  to 
analvze  his  passions,  trace  them  to  their  source,  and  view  them  in  their  naked 
deformity;  my  soul  yearns  after  getting  rid  of  this. 

I  have  at  present  three  fine  children;  my  wife's  health  very  bad;  our  old 
friend  Scott  is  much  under  the  weather;  he  appears  to  delight  in  your  bright 
ening  prospects;  sister  is  as  usual,  happy  and  cheerful;  nothing  can  crush  her 
fortitude;  our  town  and  section  of  country  looking  up.  That  your  visit  to 
Washington  may  be  one  of  pleasure  and  profit  is  the  sincere  wish  of  your 
brother.  L.  F.  Lixx.1 

GEX.  II.  DODGE. 

In  his  annual  report,  November  25th,  1832,  the  Secretary 
of  War,  Mr.  Cass,  recommended  the  conversion  of  the  corps 
of  rangers  into  a  regiment  of  dragoons.  Consequent  upon  this 
recommendation,  an  act  for  the  more  perfect  defence  of  the 
frontiers  was  passed  by  Congress,  approved  March  2d,  1833. 
It  provided  for  a  regiment  of  ten  companies,  of  one  hundred 
men  each.  The  President  appointed  Henry  Dodge  Colonel 
of  the  regiment.  Thus  honored  with  the  confidence  of  the 
Government,  Col.  Dodge  returned  to  his  command.  He 

r  Dr.  Linn  was  at  this  time  one  of  three  Commissioners  to  settle  Spanish 
land  claims  in  Missouri.  His  sister,  Mrs.  Mary  Ann  McArthur,1  removed  to 
Michigan  Territory  in  183^,  and  kept  hotel  at  Belmont  during  the  first  session 
of  the  First  Legislative  Assembly  of  Wisconsin  Territory,  1836.  Gen.  Ashley 
was  member  of  House  of  Representatives  from  Missouri.  John  Scott  was 
delegate  to  Congress  from.  Missouri  Territory,  1817-1821. 


62  HKNKY    DOIK.K. 

issued  the   following  order   to  one   of  his   Captains,  who  had 
been  appointed  in  the  place  of  Capt.  Henry: 

ST.  Loi;is,   March  31*1,  1833. 


C<tpt.  Mat  the- 

Commanding  Coin-fan  v  of   ['.  $.  Hangers: 

You  will  on  hearing  of  the  departure  of  the  caravans  for  Santa  Fe  hold 
your  company  in  readiness,  and  march  them  to  join  the  caravans  at  the  nearest 
point  from  your  present  encampment.  Your  command  will  act  as  an  escort 
until  you  arrive  at  the  Arkansas  river,  or  the  boundary  line  between  the 
United  States  and  Mexico.  You  will  afford  the  caravans  on  their  march  all 
the  aid  and  assistance  in  your  power,  and  defend  them  against  the  attack  of 
the  hostile  Indians.  You  will  preserve  the  utmost  harmony  between  the 
Rangers  and  the  Santa  Fe  traders.  On  your  march  you  will  guard  against  the 
possibility  of  surprise.  On  your  arrival  at  the  southwestern  boundary  line  of 
the  United  States,  you  will  have  an  express  understanding  with  the  traders  as 
to  the  time  the)'  will  return,  and  you  will  meet  them  with  your  company  on 
their  return  at  the  boundary  line,  and  act  as  an  escort  until  they  pass  the  line 
of  the  State  of  Missouri.  II.  DODGE, 

Col.  U.  S.  Dragoons,  Commanding  U.  S.  Rangers. 

Upon  the  Illinois  frontier  he  found  the  people  in  a  state  of 
alarm  from  a  wide-spread  apprehension  that  the  Winnebagoes 
and  Pottawattamies  were  forming  a  combination  to  attack  the 
settlements.  He  at  once  made  a  disposition  of  troops  to  quiet 
the  public  mind  and  protect  the  frontier.  A  low  stage  'of 
water  in  the  river  preventing  steamboats  from  passing  the 
rapids  of  the  Upper  Mississippi,  he  travelled  on  horseback 
from  St.  Louis  by  way  of  Vandalia,  Fort  Clark  and  Dixon's 
Ferry  to  Dodgeville,  a  distance  of  400  miles.  The  following 
letters  explain  the  condition  of  the  frontier  at  this  period: 

YAXDALIA,  April  3d,  1833. 
To  Captains  B  cokes  and  Broivne: 

The  threatening  attitude  of  the  Winnebagoes  and  the  exposed  situation  of 
our  Northwestern  frontier  makes  it  important  for  the  safety  of  the  citizens  of 
that  frontier,  as  well  as  to  enforce  a  strict  observance  of  the  treaty  made  with 
the  Winnebagoes,  that  you  should  march  from  vour  present  position  to  Ilen- 
nepin  on  the  Illinois  river,  to  arrive  at  that  place  by  the  2oth  of  April,  if  pos 
sible.  Supplies  for  the  Rangers  will  be  sent  up  the  Illinois  river  to  that  place 
by  Gen.  Atkinson.  On  your  arrival  at  Hennepin,you  will  immediately  report 
to  me  near  Dodgeville,  Michigan  Territory.  It  is  important  that  vour  move- 

i  M.  Duncan  was  publisher  of  the  first  newspaper  in  Illinois,  the  Illinois 
Herald,  at  Kaskaskia.  He  was  a  brother  of  Joseph  Duncan,  Governor  of  Illi 
nois,  1834-8. 


HENRY  DODGE.  63 

ment  should  be  made  promptly.  At  Hennepin  you  will  be  about  sixtv  miles 
from  Rock  river,  where  you  can  march  immediately  to  Rock  river,  or  any  other 
part  of  the  country  where  it  may  be  necessary  to  concentrate  the  Rangers. 

DIXON'S  FERRY,  April  Qth,  1833. 
To  Gen.  Atkinson,  St.  Louis: 

I  arrived  at  this  place  at  10  o'clock  last  night,  accompanied  by  Mr.  Wood- 
bridge,  after  a  ride  of  seventy  miles.  I  found  the  people  moving  in  every 
direction,  much  excited.  There  are  no  families  on  the  road  from  Meredith, 
twenty  miles  this  side  of  Fort  Clark,  except  Thomas,  and  none  between  this 
place  and  Apple  river.  The  information  received  through  Dixon  has  directly 
operated  on  the  great  mass  of  the  community  living  on  this  frontier.  From 
his  statements  the  conduct  of  the  Winnebagoes  is  mysterious  and  doubtful.  A 
short  time  will  determine  the  course  they  will  take.  Lieutenant  Wilson,  of  the 
U.  S.  Army,  is  going  directly  to  Jefferson  Barracks;  he  is  from  the  mines,  and 
can  inform  you  as  to  the  state  of  public  feeling.  It  is  certainly  desirable  that 
the  Government  should  purchase  as  early  as  possible  the  Pottawattamie  coun- 
trv,1  and  enforce  the  treaty  made  with  the  Winnebagoes.  Such  is  the  state  of 
feeling  of  the  people,  that  the  Indians  must  be  removed  to  prevent  war,  the 
sooner  the  better. 

Should  the  Indians  make  any  hostile  movements,  I  will  endeavor  to  be  pre 
pared  for  them.  Their  inquiries  have  been  very  particular  where  I  was,  and 
where  my  familj'  were.  I  will  advise  the  people  of  the  mining  country  to 
form  themselves  into  mounted  companies,  as  many  as  can  procure  horses,  and 
will  post  myself  with  them  in  advance  of  the  settlements,  if  there  is  an  appear 
ance  of  danger.  I  will  see  Gratiot  on  my  way  home,  and  will  send  for  the 
principal  chiefs  of  the  Winnebagoes,  and  have  a  talk  with  them,  which  I  will 
communicate  to  you. 

NEAR  DODGEVILLE,  MICH.  TY.,  April  13111,  1833. 
To  Major  General  Macomb, 

Commanding  U.S.  Army  at  Washington  City: 

The  inhabitants  of  the  Illinois  frontier  appear  in  much  dread  from  an  attack 
of  the  Potta\vattamies,  and  are  leaving  the  settlements;  many  of  them  I  met 
in  wagons.  They  appear  in  great  dread  of  a  premeditated  attack  from  both 
Pottawattamies  and  Winnebagoes.  I  am  convinced  that  nothing  short  of  an 
extinguishment  of  the  title  of  the  Pottawattamies  to  the  country  bordering 
on  the  State  of  Illinois,  and  their  removal  from  that  frontier,  will  quiet  the 
minds  of  the  inhabitants.  I  consider  it  important  to  the  future  growth  of  this 

i  The  Pottawattamie  country  contained  about  five  millions  of  acres  lying 
along  the  western  shore  of  Lake  Michigan,  and  between  that  lake  and  the 
land  lately  ceded  to  the  U.  S.  by  the  Winnebagoes.  By  a  treaty  made  a  few 
months  afterward  at  Chicago  it  was  ceded  to  the  U.  S.  September  26th,  1833, 
and  the  Pottawattamies  agreed  to  remove  to  the  country  now  constituting  a 
part  of  Southwestern  Iowa  and  of  Northwestern  Missouri,  lying  between  the 
Boyer  and  Nodaway  rivers,  and  embracing  five  millions  of  acres.  U.  S. 
Statutes  at  Large,  t'/V,  431- 


64  HENRY  DODGE. 

country  that  the  Winnebagoes  should  be  forced  to  leave  the  country  they  have 
ceded  to  the  I".  S.,  and  that  there  should  be  a  separation  of  the  Winnebagoes 
and  Poltawattamies.  Such  is  the  dislike  of  the  people  of  the  frontier  generally 
of  these  two  nations,  impressed  as  they  are  with  the  belief  that  they  partici 
pated  in  the  late  war  with  the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  that  war  must  be  the  inevitable 
result  unless  they  are  all  removed.  Whether  the  inhabitants  are  in  danger  or 
not.  thev  appear  confident  of  the  hostile  disposition  of  these  Indians.  I  have 
seen  Mr.  Gratiot,  sub  agent,  since  mv  arrival.  He  savs  no  clanger  is  to  be 
apprehended  from  the  Winnebagoes,  that  they  say  they  will  not  go  to  war 
with  the  whites,  but  that  thev  wish  to  remain  on  the  lands  they  have  ceded  to 
the  U.  S.,  and  raise  corn,  and  that  when  they  receive  their  annuity  money  in 
the  fall  they  will  cross  the  Wisconsin  river  to  their  country.  This  arrange 
ment  will  not  suit  the  people  of  this  frontier.  Nothing  but  the  removal  of  the 
Rock  River  Indians  will  satisfy  the  people;  and  from  the  advantages  the 
Indians  have,  their  knowledge  of  the  country,  the  extent  of  the  swamps,  as 
well  as  the  thickets  and  fallen  timber  where  they  could  secrete  themselves  and 
be  free  from  an  attack  of  a  body  of  horses,  unless  the  Winnebagoes  go  peace- 
ablv  it  will  take  at  least  700  mounted  men  to  remove  them  to  act  on  foot  or 
mounted,  as  this  particular  service  may  require. 

Gratiot  states  to  me  he  saw  among  the  Winnebagoes  four  of  the  murderers 
that  made  their  escape  from  Fort  Winnebago  last  fall.1  If  they  are  as  friendly 
as  thev  profess  to  be,  why  not  give  up  the  murderers?  It  would  certainly  be 
the  best  evidence  of  their  disposition  to  act  correctly.  The  people  of  the  min 
ing  country  are  satisfied  of  the  guilt  of  the  Winnebagoes  in  having  aided  the 
Sacs  in  the  war  against  us  and  the  escape  of  the  Winnebago  murderers.  It 
being  known  to  all  that  the  murderers  of  our  people  are  protected  by  the  great 
body  of  the  Winnebagoes  on  Rock  river  will  make  it  difficult  to  keep  peace 
unless  these  murderers  are  given  up. 

DODGEVILT.E,   April   22d,   1833. 
To  Brigadier  General  II.  Atkinson, 

Commanding  the  Rig  lit  Wing  of  the  Western  Dcpt.,  f\  S.  Army: 

On  mv  arrival  at  Gratiot's  Grove  on  the  loth  inst.,  I  proposed  to  Mr.  Gratiot, 
who  had  returned  from  the  Turtle  village  the  evening  before,  to  send  imme 
diately  for  the  chiefs  of  the  Winnebagoes  on  Rock  river.  My  object  was  to 
ascertain  the  state  of  feeling  among  them.  Mr.- Gratiot  states  that  they  deny 
any  hostile  feelings  towards  the  whites,  and  that  they  have  no  ammunition, 
and  are  almost  in  a  state  of  starvation. 

Mr.  John  Kinxie,  sub-agent  at  Fort  Winnebago,  was  with  me  last  night;  he 
is  directly  from  that  place  by  the  way  of  Uaugherty's,  an  Indian  trader,  who 

i  These  murderers  were  charged,  some  of  them,  with  the  murder  of  St. 
Vrain,  in  Illinois,  others  with  the  murder  of  Aubrey,  Green,  and  Force,  near 
the  Blue  Mounds.  They  made  their  escape  from  the  black  hole  at  the  fort, 
by  digging  under  the  stone  foundation  with  their  knives  through  the  earth,  a 
distance  of  seven  or  eight  feet  outside  the  fort.  Nilci  /iV^/V/Vv,  Jauuarv  iqth, 
'833- 


HENRY  DODGE.  65 

is  settled  near  the  Four  Lakes.  He  says  the  Winnebagoes  are  in  great  dread 
of  the  whites,  and  wish  much  to  see  me.  I  have  agreed  to  meet  Kinzie  at  the 
Four  Lakes  on  this  day  week.  He  will  notify  the  Indians,  and  will  attend.  I 
will  endeavor  to  have  Gratiot  present,  and  Pauquette  as  interpreter.  I  will  let 
the  Indians  know  the  necessity  of  their  removal. 

Mr.  Kinzie  states,  on  his  return  from  Chicago  recently,  that  he  had  seen  and 
talked  with  Caldwell,  the  chief  of  the  Pottawattamies,  who  says  they  are 
anxious  to  sell  their  country  to  the  United  States  and  move  west  of  the  Missis 
sippi;  and  that  they  are  anxious  to  explore  the  country  west  of  the  Mississippi, 
and  want  an  escort  of  Rangers  to  accompany  them,  as  the  country  west  of  the 
Mississippi  is  owned  by  different  nations  of  Indinns,  with  the  exception  of  that 
portion  recently  purchased  by  the  United  States  from  the  Sacs  and  Foxes.  A 
treaty  would  have  to  be  made  with  the  Indians  owning  the  country  they  might 
select,  before  their  removal  could  be  effected. 

I  received  a  letter  from  Capt.  Beekes,  dated  from  his  camp  near  Vincennes 
on  the  9th  inst.  He  acknowledges  the  receipt  of  my  order.  He  appears  to 
think  it  will  be  impossible  for  him  to  reach  Hennepin  by  the  2Oth  inst.  He 
states' that  Paymaster  Philips  had  not  arrived,  that  the  Rangers  were  without 
money  to  buy  forage  for  their  horses,  that  he  had  selected  Mr.  Samuel  Smith 
to  purchase  rations  for  the  Rangers  as  well  as  forage  for  their  horses,  and  was 
busily  engaged  in  making  the  necessary  preparations  for  their  march,  that  he 
would  reach  Hennepin  as  early  as  possible,  that  the  health  of  the  men  was 
good,  their  horses  in  excellent  order,  and  that  they  were  well  armed  and 
equipped  for  service. 

Capt.  Browne  will,  I  presume,  be  at  Hennepin  with  his  company  by  the 
time  specified.  I  have  no  doubt  the  Rangers  of  these  companies  will  be 
employed  on  this  frontier  during  their  term  of  enlistment.  Supplies  of  provis 
ions  will  be  wanting  for  them  at  some  convenient  points,  say  Fort  Winnebago, 
Fort  Crawford,  and  at  Helena,  on  the  Wisconsin  river.  It  is  believed  that  the 
Winnebagoes  will  locate  themselves  at  or  near  the  old  Sac  village.  Helena 
would  be  a  central  point  between  the  Portage  and  the  mouth  of  the  Wisconsin 
river,  and,  as  the  Winnebagoes  will  be  all  removed  north  of  the  river,  there 
will  be  no  necessity  for  ranging  the  country  on  the  Rock  river,  unless  it  should 
be  necessary  to  watch  the  movements  of  the  Pottawattamies  on  the  Illinois 
frontier. 

I  will  immediately,  after  a  meeting  with  the  Winnebagoes,  forward  you 
copies  of  our  talk  with  them.  The  large  amount  now  to  be  paid  the  Winne 
bagoes  annually,  and  the  conflicting  interests  of  agents  as  well  as  Indian 
traders,  make  it  difficult  to  come  at  the  truth. 

NEAR   DODGEVILLE,  April  25th,  1833. 
Capt.   Jesse  Browne, 

Commanding  a  Company  of  U.  S.  Rangers: 

I  received  your  favor  of  the  2oth  inst.  from  Hennepin  by  express.  Your 
arrival  at  that  place  was  calculated  to  quiet  the  minds  of  the  inhabitants  on 
the  Illinois  frontier;  the  people  have  been  kept  in  a  state  of  agitation  from  con 
flicting  reports. 


66  HENRY  DOIX;K. 

With  a  view  to  ensuring  the  complete  execution  of  the  treaty  with  the 
Wihnebagoes,  I  am  directed  to  order  your  company  to  advance  as  early  as  the 
season  will  permit,  to  take  such  a  position  as  will  enable  your  command  to  be 
etk-ctive  in  reference  to  the  removal  of  the  Winnebagoes,  should  thev  hesitate 
to  comply  with  the  treaty. 

To  facilitate  the  views  of  the  Government,  vou  will  march  vour  company  to 
this  frontier  as  early  as  possible,  and  as  the  supplies  of  provisions,  arms  and 
ammunition  for  the  use  of  your  company  must  be  drawn  at  Fort  Crawford, 
you  will  have  to  draw  at  least  ten  days  rations  at  Hennepin;  the  distance  from 
that  place  to  Fort  Crawford  is  200  miles.  As  it  will  be  necessary  for  me  to 
communicate  with  Col.  Taylor,  the  commanding  officer  at  Fort  Crawford,  you 
will  pass  near  my  residence  in  the  mining  country,  which  is  the  direct  route 
from  Rock  river  to  Fort  Crawford,  and  report  to  me  for  further  orders. 

I  am  to  hold  a  talk  with  the  chiefs  of  the  Rock  River  Band  of  Winnebagoes 
at  the  Four  Lakes  on  the  29th.  inst.,  and  will  possibly  get  some  information 
that  may  be  depended  on.  From  the  statements  of  the  Indian  Agents  it  would 
seem  the  Winnebagoes  are  in  great  dread  of  an  attack  from  the  Rangers  this 
spring.  I  will  communicate  to  them  what  the  views  of  the  Government  are  as 
respects  their  removal  from  the  lands  they  have  ceded  to  the  United  States.  I 
have  no  doubt  it  is  absolutely  necessary  for  the  security  of  the  frontier  inhabi 
tants  both  of  Illinois  and  Michigan  that  the  Pottawattamies  and  Winnebagoes 
should  be  separated,  and  that  they  should  be  obliged  to  leave  their  present 
residence. 

Similar  orders  to  those  sent  to  Capt.  Browne  were  sent  to 
Capt.  Beekes.  Col.  Dodge  met  the  Winnebago  chiefs  at  the 
Four  Lakes  on  the  2pth  of  April,  as  is  described  in  the  fol 
lowing  letters: 

May  2cl,   1833. 
Brigadier  General  Atkitison : 

I  forward  you  a  copy  of  the  talk  held  with  the  Winnebagoes  at  the  head  of 
the  Four  Lakes  on  the  29th  ult.  Mr.  Kinzie  attended  the  council  as  well  as 
Mr.  Gratiot;  Pauquette  acted  as  interpreter.  The  White  Crow  and  Whirling 
Thunder  were  anxious  that  I  should  speak  first,  no  doubt  with  a  view  of  ascer 
taining  if  any  advantage  could  be  taken  on  their  part.  I  told  the  chiefs  I 
wished  to  know  what  their  feelings  and  wishes  were  in  relation  to  removal 
from  the  country  they  had  ceded  the  United  States  last  year.  I  replied  to  the 
talk  of  the  chiefs,  and  then  told  them  I  would  be  glad  to  hear  from  them 
again.  They  made  no  reply  to  that  part  of  my  talk  in  relation  to  the  mur 
derers. 

From  all  the  information  I  can  procure,  the  traders  and  some  others  have 
told  the  Indians  that  as  they  delivered  the  murderers  once,  and  the  whites 
permitted  them  to  escape,  by  the  laws  of  nations  the  whites  would  have  to 
retake  them. 

I  was  informed  about  four  days  before  I  met  the  Indians  in  council,  that 
one  hundred  and  fifty  of  the  Winnebagoes  had  been  at  Daugherty's  trading 


HENRY  DODGE.  67 

house,  which  is  about  fifteen  miles  from  the  Four  Lakes,  to  see  me,  under 
standing  I  was  to  be  there  at  that  time.  The  Indian  who  killed  St.  Vrain, 
the  Indian  agent,  was  among  the  number,  dressed  very  fine,  and  said  he  wanted 
to  see  me.  Some  steps  should  be  taken  to  oblige  the  chiefs  to  deliver  these 
murderers.  I  have  received  no  instructions  on  that  subject.  I  discovered  a 
great  unwillingness  on  the  part  of  the  Indians  to  leave  the  country  thev  have 
sold  the  United  States.  Nothing  but  a  strong  mounted  force  will  drive  them 
off.  My  opinion  is,  a  few  of  the  leading  men  will  go  to  save  appearances,  and 
many  will  remain  on  the  Upper  Rock  river,  which  is  so  well  calculated  to 
afford  them  shelter  and  protection. 

I  had  the  honor  of  receiving  your  favor  of  the  i5th  ult.  I  had  not  intended 
organizing  the  militia  of  the  mining  country  unless  the  hostile  disposition  of 
the  Indians  was  apparent.  I  am  much  gratified  that  the  steps  I  have  taken  in 
calling  the  Indians  into  council  has  met  your  approbation.  I  could  devise  no 
plan  that  appeared  to  me  more  advisable  than  to  call  them  together,  and  have 
their  agents  present  at  a  conference  with  them. 

I  am  exceedingly  unwilling  to  assume  responsibilities  not  warranted  by  the 
express  letter  of  my  orders.  I  have,  however,  frequently  from  necessitv  and 
not  choice  been  obliged  to  act  from  circumstances.  As  this  frontier  is  under 
your  immediate  direction  I  should  not  act  without  your  orders  as  the  com 
manding  general,  except  in  cases  of  great  apparent  danger.' 

NEAR  DODGE vi LI. E,  M.  T.,  May  3d,  1833. 
Hon.  Lcr.'is  Ctiss,  Secretary  of    War : 

[After  communicating  the  same   information  as   is  contained  in  the  above 

letter  to  Gen.  Atkinson] You   are  much   better  acquainted  with  the 

Indian  character  than  I  can  pretend  to  be,  and  can  form  more  correct  conclu 
sions  than  I  can.  The  Winnebagoes  are  the  most  difficult  Indians  to  under 
stand  I  have  ever  been  acquainted  with.  If  they  could  avoid  a  compliance 
with  their  engagements  to  leave  the  country  they  have  ceded  to  the  United 
States,  they  would  do  so.  The  Rangers  will  be  here  in  a  few  days.  Whether 
the  two  companies  will  be  a  force  sufficiently  imposing  to  oblige  the  Upper 
Rock  River  Winnebagoes  to  remove,  I  am  unable  to  say,  A  few  of  the 
leading  men  I  think  will  remove;  but  it  is  doubtful  whether  the  major 
part  of  them  will  cross  the  Wisconsin  river.  Their  chiefs  appear  to  have  less 
influence  over  them  than  any  Indians  I  have  known. 

Upon  the  arrival  of  the  two  companies  of  Rangers  at  Col. 
Dodge's  headquarters  the  latter  part  of  May,  they  were 
ordered,  after  halting  a  week,  to  take  a  position  suitable  for 
camping  in  the  neighbohood  of  the  Four  Lakes,  in  order  to 
watch  the  Winnebagoes,  and  to  insure  their  strict  observance 
of  the  treaty  made  with  them  at  Rock  Island.  They  estab 
lished  a  camp  near  the  northwest  side  of  Fourth  Lake,  and 
named  it  Belle  Fountain;  and  subsequently  a  camp  on  the 


68  HKNRY  DODGE. 

Wisconsin  river,  and  named  it  camp  Knox.  Supplies  of  am 
munition  and  subsistence  were  drawn  from  Fort  Winnebago, 
and  from  Helena,  on  the  Wisconsin  river.  The  two  compan 
ies  were  under  the  command  of  Capt.  Beekes,  to  whom  Col. 
Dodge  gave  the  following  orders,  June  4th : 

Captain  Beekes  will  observe  a  mild  but  decided  course  towards  the  Winne- 
He  will  order  a  detachment  of  twenty  men  under  the  command  of 
an  officer,  who  will  take  the  main  trail  of  the  Sacs  to  where  they  crossed  the 
muddy  fork  of  Rock  river;  after  crossing  that  branch  of  Rock  river  they  will 
take  the  main  trail  made  by  the  whites  to  where  the  volunteers  under  my  com 
mand  reached  Rock  river  from  Fort  Winnebago.  By  this  movement  you  will 
ascertain  if  a  part  of  the  Winnebagoes  are  yet  remaining  on  Rock  river.  Y  ou 
will  keep  detachments  ranging  the  country  to  Whitewater  on  the  Rock  river, 
as  well  as  to  the  Turtle  village  formerly  occupied  by  the  Winnebagoes,  and 
ascertain,  if  possible,  if  any  part  of  the  Winnebagoes  have  removed  to  the 
lands  of  the  Pottawattamies.  Should  you  find  a  considerable  number  of  the 
Winnebagoes  yet  remaining  on  the  lands  they  have  ceded  the  United  States, 
you  will  immediately  send  an  express  to  Col.  Taylor,  commanding  at  Fort 
Crawford,  under  whose  orders  you  are  placed  during  my  absence  to  the  south 
ern  frontier,  and  no  steps  are  to  be  taken  until  his  arrival,  as  the  removal  of  the 
Winnebagoes  devolves  exclusively  on  Col.  Taylor,  should  they  refuse  to  leave 
the  country  agreeably  to  the  stipulations  of  the  treaty  made  at  Rock  Island. 

Should  the  U.  S.  Rangers  meet  the  Winnebagoes,  or  find  them  located  on 
the  ceded  lands,  they  are  to  take  no  steps,  but  report  the  facts  to  the  command 
ing  officer  of  the  detachment,  unless  they  should  be  attacked  by  the  Winne 
bagoes.  In  that  event  they  are  to  kill  the  offenders,  their  aiders  and  abetters, 
if  possible.  The  parties  sent  on  this  service  should  be  directed  to  be  strictly 
on  their  guard  against  the  possibility  of  surprise,  by  keeping  their  spies  always 
in  the  advance  and  on  their  flanks  and  rear  such  a  distance  as  to  give  the  main 
party  time  to  be  prepared  for  action,  should  it  become  necessary.  Silence  is 
of  the  first  importance  where  there  is  the  possibility  of  danger;  loud  talking 
and  laughing  should  be  prohibited  on  a  march;  caution  is  the  first  duty  of  a 
soldier;  the  utmost  vigilance  will  be  necessary  in  preventing  horses  from  being 
stolen  by  the  Indians,  or  straying  away ;  they  must  be  well  secured  at  all 
times. 

Discipline  and  subordination  is  of  vital  importance  to  all  bodies  of  armed 
men.  The  drill  for  the  Rangers  as  prescribed  by  the  War  Department  must 
be  practiced  each  day  when  the  weather  will  permit;  the  dismounting  motion, 
linking  horses,  advancing  the  Rangers  in  line,  in  open  order,  and  at  trail  arms, 
is  an  important  movement  that  should  be  well  understood  by  the  Rangers. 

The  commanding  officer  of  the  Rangers  directs  that  the  rules  and  articles  of 
war  shall  be  observed  and  obeyed,  and  that  the  general  regulations  of  the  army 
be  observed  in  all  cases.  A  proper  deference  and  respect  from  the  officers  to 
each  other,  it  is  expected,  will  be  strictly  observed  in  their  respective  relations. 
Combining  as  the  officers  of  this  detachment  do  a  knowledge  of  the  leading 


HENRY  DODGE.  69 

principles  of  their  profession,  as  well  as  a  practical  knowledge  of  Indian  war 
fare,  the  most  happy  results  may  be  expected  in  affording  protection  to  the 
settlers  on  the  frontiers. 

Ordered  by  Gen.  Atkinson  to  make  a  demand  upon  the 
Winnebago  chiefs  for  the  murderers  who  had  escaped  the 
previous  fall,  Col.  Dodge  made  arrangements  to  meet  the 
chiefs  at  the  Portage  for  that  purpose. 

June  4th,   1833. 
To  Gen.  Henry  Atkinson: 

Yours  of  the  24th  ult.  I  received  this  morning.  I  am  much  gratified  that 
my  course  in  relation  to  the  Winnebagoes  has  met  your  approbation.  Every 
facility  has  been  afforded  the  Winnebagoes  of  Rock  river  to  enable  them 
peaceably  to  leave  the  country  they  have  ceded  to  the  United  States;  the  corn 
promised  them  they  have  received,  and  Capt.  Gentry  hauled  their  canoes  from 
the  Four  Lakes  to  the  Wisconsin  river.  The  Whirling  Thunder,  the  Blind  or 
White  Crow,  Little  Priest,  Little  Black,  and  White  Breast  had  crossed  over  to 
the  Wisconsin  with  their  canoes.  The  Man  Eater,  who  is  the  principal  chief 
on  the  Upper  Rock  river,  and  the  Spotted  Arm,  it  was  understood,  had  not 
crossed  the  Wisconsin.  Capt.  Gentry  saw  about  one  hundred  men,  warriors. 
From  all  the  information  I  have  been  able  to  procure,  not  one  half  of  the 
Rock  River  Indians  have  crossed  the  Wisconsin;  and  the  Indians  that  have 
crossed  are  no  doubt  waiting  to  see  what  steps  will  be  taken  as  to  the  removal 
of  those  remaining  on  the  lands  they  have  ceded  the  United  States. 

I  will  take  a  position  near  the  Four  Lakes,  where  I  can  march  to  any  part 
of  the  Rock  River  country  in  two  days.  The  large  trails  made  last  season  will 
be  easily  followed  by  light  parties  that  may  be  sent  out  to  make  discoveries. 
I  have  always  been  of  opinion  it  would  require  an  armed  force  to  drive  the 
Winnebagoes  from  Rock  River.  Should  a  spirit  of  resistance  be  shown  on 
the  part  of  the  Indians,  when  I  ascertain  the  probable  number  I  can  better 
determine  what  number  of  troops  will  be  necessary  to  drive  them,  and  will 
advise  you  immediately.  I  will  get  Pauquette,  if  possible,  to  accompany  me 
as  interpreter.  It  will  be  difficult  at  present  to  get  the  murderers.  The  course 
you  have  advised  will  be  pursued.  I  have  no  doubt  it  will  require  the  action 
of  the  chiefs  to  effect  a  delivery  of  them.  I  will  immediately  call  the  attention 
of  the  Indian  agents  to  the  subject,  and  meet  the  chiefs  as  early  as  possible. 
The  Portage  will  be,  I  think,  the  better  place  to  convene  them. 

NEAR  DODGEVILLE,  June  8th,  1832.. 
To  Brigadier  General  Atkinson: 

I  leave  this  place  early  to-morrow  morning  for  the  Four  Lakes.  I  will 
ascertain  as  early  as  possible  the  movements  of  the  Winnebagoes,  and  advise 
the  Indian  agents  of  the  time  and  place  I  will  meet  the  chiefs  to  make  a 
demand  of  the  murderers.  I  learned  from  Mr.  Goodale,  sutler  at  Fort  Winne 
bago,  that  Mr.  Kinzie,  the  Indian  agent  at  the  Portage,  had  gone  to  Green 
Bav,  to  meet  Governor  Porter,  and  that  he  would  not  return  to  the  Portage 
before  the  i5th  inst. 


7o  HENRY  DODGE. 

The  Four  Lakes,  I  think,  will  he  a  proper  point  to  post  the  Rangers;  the 
distance  from  Helena  will  be  about  thirty  seven  miles.  The  Rangers  have  six 
wagons,  and  will  be  able  with  convenience  to  transport  the  necessary  supplies 
for  their  use  while  at  that  place,  and  it  will  be  within  fifteen  miles  of  the  Wis 
consin  river,  and  where  I  can  ascertain  better  the  movements  of  the  Indians, 
and  range  the  country  from  the  Blue  Mounds  to  Fort  Winnebago. 

In  addition  to  his  duties  with  the  Rangers  in  connection 
with  the  removal  of  the  Winnebagoes,  Col.  Dodge  was  also 
occupied  with  arrangements  for  the  organization  of  the  Regi 
ment  of  U.  S.  Dragoons.  The  following  extracts  relate  in 
part  to  those  arrangements: 

DODGEVILLE,  ]unc  8th,   1833. 
To  Major  J.  S.  Brant, 

Quartermaster^  St.  Louis,  Missouri : 

Every  attention  shall  be  paid  for  the  safe  keeping  of  the  public  horses.  It  is 
desirable,  however,  they  should  be  removed  as  early  as  possible  to  where  they 
might  be  wanting  for  the  use  of  the  Dragoons,  as  they  are  in  fine  order. 
Should  any  of  the  public  horses  stray  off,  or  be  stolen,  I  certainly  ought  not  to 
be  responsible  for  them. 

I  am  much  gratified  to  hear  the  public  horses  purchased  by  me  will  be  paid 
for,  and  that  a  settlement  will  take  place  for  the  mounting  and  equipping  the 
Iowa  County  Militia.  The  responsibility  I  was  obliged  to  take  for  the  defence 
and  protection  of  our  frontier  has  been  a  source  of  great  uneasiness  to  me.  I 
have  given  to  Major  Kirby,  the  paymaster,  all  the  information  in  mv  power, 
and,  if  my  duties  on  the  frontier  will  permit  me,  will  do  everything  I  can  to 
assist  Capt.  Palmer,  Special  Agent  for  the  Quartermaster's  Department,  in  his 
settlement  of  the  public  accounts. 

In  your  letter  of  the  3oth  ult.,  you  stated  you  had  received  instructions  for 
the  erection  of  stables,  store-houses,  and  for  equipments,  etc.,  for  the  Regiment 
of  Dragoons.  I  fully  agree  with  you  in  voui>  views  as  to  the  propriety  of 
regarding  efficiency  and  durability  in  the  outfit  as  essential  to  the  future  use 
fulness  of  the  corps,  and  that  economy  should  be  observed  in  the  expenditure 
of  the  public  money  in  the  erection  of  stables. 

The  Regiment  of  Dragoons  was  intended  for  the  more  perfect  defence  of 
this  frontier.  I  do  not  know  what  the  views  of  the  Government  may  be  as  to 
the  future  disposition  of  the  Regiment  I  presume,  however,  they  will  be  sta 
tioned  after  their  organization  on  the  frontier.  It  is  not  to  be  expected  that 
Jefferson  Barracks  will  be  the  permanent  headquarters  of  the  Regiment  longer 
than  may  be  necessary  to  complete  its  organization. 

On  his  return  from  Fort  Winnebago  he  forwarded  the  fol 
lowing  report  to  Gen.  Atkinson: 

DODGEVILLK,    MICHIGAN    TV.,   June  29th,    1833. 

GENERAL: — I  received  your  letter  of  i3th  inst.  yesterdav  evening  on  mv 
return  from  Fort  Winnebago.  On  the  9th  insl.  I  started  from  this  place  for 


HENRY  DODGE.  71 

Fort  Winnebago,  reached  the  Rangers'  camp  near  the  Four  Lakes  on  the  loth 
inst.,  and  arrived  at  Fort  Winnebago  on  the,  i4th.  Mr.  Kinzie,  sub-agent  for 
the  Winnebagoes,  arrived  on  the  I5th  with  twenty  thousand  dollars,  the 
annuity  money  for  the  Winnebagoes.  I  waited  on  Mr.  Kinzie,  and  sent  for 
Mr.  Pauquette,  the  interpreter,  and  had  a  confidential  conference  with  them 
on  the  subject  of  the  removal  of  the  Winnebagoes,  as  well  as  the  necessity  of 
a  prompt  delivery  of  the  eight  murderers  who  made  their  escape  from  Fort 
Winnebago  last  fall;  and  that  a  refusal  on  the  part  of  the  Indians  to  remove 
from  the  ceded  lands  would  oblige  me  to  march  with  the  mounted  Rangers  to 
drive  them  across  the  Wisconsin  river,  and  that  it  might  be  necessary  for  me 
to  call  on  the  Government  for  aid,  and,  should  it  become  necessary  to  do  so, 
that  the  chiefs  would  be  in  danger  of  being  taken  and  held  as  hostages  until 
the  murderers  were  delivered  up,  to  be  dealt  with  according  to  law.  I  was 
well  apprised  that  Man  Eater,  the  chief  on  the  Upper  Rock  river,  had  not  left 
his  village,  and- that  at  least  sixty  lodges  were  yet  remaining  on  the  Upper 
Rock  river.  Mr.  Kinzie  having  the  annuity  money  in  his  possession,  I 
thought  it  would  be  a  favorable  moment  to  call  the  attention  of  the  chiefs  to 
this  subject,  that  the  annuity  money  would  not  be  paid  them,  until  they  com 
plied  with  the  demands  of  the  Government.  I  desired  Mr.  Kinzie  to  notify 
the  chiefs  I  would  meet  them  on  the  22d  inst.,  at  the  Portage;  in  the  mean 
time,  the  Indians  on  the  Rock  river  should  be  all  notified,  both  as  to  their 
removal,  as  well  as  my  course  in  relation  to  the  murderers. 

I  left  the  Rangers  on  the  morning  of  the  22d  inst.,  and  arrived  at  Fort  Win 
nebago  at  about  10  o'clock.  The  Rangers  arrived  at  the  fort  at  about  12 
o'clock.  I  enclose  you  a  talk  held  with  the  chiefs: 

To  the  Chiefs  of  the   Winnebago  Nation: 

When  at  the  Four  Lakes,  on  the  2gth  of  April,  in  my  talk  with  you  I  told  you  that  a  cloud  of  dark 
ness  would  rest  on  your  Nation  until  you  delivered  up  to  justice  the  eight  murderers  taken  by  you 
last  fall  under  a  stipulation  of  the  treaty  made  with  the  U.  S.  Commissioners  at  Rock  Island.  You 
acted  in  that  respect  with  good  faith.  The  murderers  have  made  their  escape;  they  have  received 
your  aid  and  protection.  During  the  winter  on  Rock  river,  your  agent,  Mr.  Gratiot,  stated  to  me 
he  had  seen  four  of  them;  he  identified  the  Indian  who  killed  the  U.  S.  agent  of  the  Sacs  and 
Foxes,  Mr.  St.  Vrain. 

It  becomes  my  duty  to  demand  of  you,  the  chiefs,  that  these  men  be  delivered  to  me;  their  escape 
from  justice  is  no  acquittal  of  them.  Is  it  right,  is  it  just,  that  men  who  professed  to  be  our  friends, 
and  when  the  Government  of  the  U.  S.  was  in  a  state  of  peace  with  their  nation,  that  a  part  of  them 
should  unite  with  the  Sac  and  Fox  Indians,  to  kill  our  weak  and  defenceless  citizens  on  this  frontier 
and  charge  the  crimes  on  the  Sacs?  The  men  who  participated  in  killing  the  U.  S.  Indian  agent, 
and  his  murderer,  whom,  as  Mr.  Gratiot,  your  agent,  states,  Mr.  St.  Vrain  had  fed  and  extended  to 
him  all  the  rights  of  hospitality  and  friendship  at  his  house  at  Rock  Island  but  two  weeks  before  he 
was  killed! — the  Indian  who  barbarously  cut  off  his  hands  and  feet  before  his  death! — have  been 
permitted  by  you  to  go  at  large,  covered  with  the  blood  of  an  innocent  man,  without  any  attempt 
since  the  escape  of  these  murderers  on  your  part  to  bring  him  and  the  rest  of  the  murderers  to  that 
justice  their  crimes  merit.  This  state  of  things  is  in  direct  violation  of  every  principle  of  justice;  and 
contrary  to  all  usage  among  friendly  nations,  for  one  party  to  harbor  and  conceal  murderers  and 
culprits  claimed  by  the  other  party, 

I  now  distinctly  give  you  to  understand  that  if  you  fail  to  adopt  measures  for  the  apprehension  of 
the  fugitives  from  justice,  it  will  lead  to  a  stoppage  of  your  annuities  by  the  Government  and  that 
your  chiefs  are  liable  to  be  arrested  and  detained  until  the  delivery  of  the  murderers. 

Your  great  father,  the  President  of  the  United  States,  deals  justly  with  all  nations,  whether  a 
strong  or  a  weak  people;  he  asks  nothing  of  them  that  is  not  right;  and  he  will  submit  to  nothing 
that  is  wrong.  He  will  do  justice  to  all  the  Red  Skins.  Had  our  frontier  people  killed  any  of  the 


IllNKY 


\Vinnebanoes  in  a  linn-  ««f  peace,  they  would  have  been  punished  act ordm-  to  the  laws  of  the  coun 
try  where  the  crime  was  committed.  If  your  people  kill  ours,  they  must  he  punished  in  the  .same 
manner  that  our  citizens  arc  punished.  The  laws  are  made  for  the  protection  of  all,  as  well  88  for 
the  punishment  of  all  who  violate  them. 

If  you  deliver  the  murderers  to  us,  to  be  dealt  with  according  to  law,  you  will  give  us  a  proof  uf 
your  friendly  disposition,  and  that  you  are  disposed  to  observe  and  conform  to  those  friendly  rela 
tions  that  should  exist  among  different  nations  of  people;  then  the  bright  chain  of  friendship  will 
remain  entire  and  unbroken  between  us. 

Should  you  fail  to  deliver  these  murderers,  your  road  will  be  filled  with  thorns,  and  the  sun  will 
be 'covered  with  a  dark  cloud,  which  will  rest  over  your  nation  until  the  blood  of  the  innocent  is 
avenged. 

Judge  Doty,  the  former  U.  S.  District  Judge,  now  practicing  as  an  attorney, 
had  heen  at  the  Portage  after  my  conference  with  Mr.  Kinzie.  He  had  heen 
employed  last  fall  by  the  murderers  to  defend  them.  He  advised  the  friends 
of  the  culprits  to  deliver  themselves  up  to  Mr.  Kinzie,  who  was  the  only  acting 
magistrate  at  the  Portage,  before  my  arrival.  As  Mr.  Kinzie  lived  in  Brown 
county,  the  murderers  would  be  committed  to  the  gaol  of  that  county,  and  they 
would  not  be  taken  to  Prairie  du  Chien  and  confined,  and  would  not  have  to 
be  tried  in  Iowa  county,  where  the  alleged  murders  were  committed,  and 
where  public  opinion  was  decidedly  against  them.  Mr.  Kinzie  directed  the 
accused  murderers  to  be  placed  in  the  guard  house  in  the  fort,  under  the  ninth 
article  of  the  treaty  made  at  Rock  Island.  The  names  of  the  murderers  wen- 
given,  and  three  of  them  were  given  up  as  the  murderers  of  Mr.  St.  Vrain, 
killed  near  Kellogg's  Grove,  in  the  State  of  Illinois,  who  must  be  tried  in  thai 
State;  and  consequently  a  demand  must  be  made  by  the  Governor  of 
the  State  of  Illinois  on  the  Governor  of  this  Territory  for  the  delivery  of  the 
murderers  of  St.  Vrain  I  mention  this  subject  in  order  that  the  proper  steps 
may  be  taken  in  relation  to  the  trial  of  these  murderers. 

The  Indians  charged  with  killing  Aubrey,  Green,  and  Force,  near  the  Blue 
Mounds,  must  be  tried  in  the  county  where  the  murder  was  committed,  unless 
the  Judge  orders  the  change  of  the  venue.  The  Indians  were  marching  to  t  he- 
fort  on  my  arrival;  seven  of  them  have  been  committed;  there  is  a  hostage  for 
the  eighth,  that  is  expected  will  be  delivered. 

There  is  a  large  collection  of  the  Winnebagoes  at  the  Portage;  Mr.  Kinzie 
says  about  four  thousand  souls.  They  will  be  paid  their  annuity  money  on  the 
first  of  July.  Man  Eater  and  the  Indians  of  the  Upper  Rock  river  were  all  at 
the  Portage.  They  are  now  camped  on  the  Menominee  lands,  and  say  they 
have  a  right  to  remain.  I  think  to  remove  the  Rangers  immediately  from  the 
frontier,  many  of  the  Winnebagoes  will  cross  the  Wisconsin  below  the  Portage 
and  return  toward  the  Rock  river. 

I  would  have  remained  at  the  Portage  with  the  Rangers  until  the  annuity 
money  was  paid,  and  would  have  seen  the  Winnebagoes  move  across  the  Wis 
consin,  but  the  scarcity  of  supplies  at  Fort  Winnebago  obliged  me  to  march 
the  Rangers  to  Helena,  where  our  supplies  had  arrived  about  the  iSth  inst. 

I  am  strengthened  in  my  belief  that  the  Indians  will  return  to  the  Rock 
river  from  the  statements  of  Mr.  Marsh,  an  agent  of  the  American  Fur  Com 
pany.  He  called  to  see  me,  and  stated  to  me  that  the  fur  trade  of  the  Upper 
Rock  river  was  worth  twenty  thousand  dollars  annually,  that  he  had  been 


HENRY  DODGE.  73 

engaged  in  that  trade  about  ten  years;  he  appeared  to  regret  much  that  the 
Winnebagoes  should  be  deprived  of  the  privilege  of  hunting  on  the  ceded 
country,  because  the  Pottawattamies  would  cross  over  their  boundary  and  hunt 
and  trap  on  the  ceded  country.  I  stated  to  him  I  understood  commissioners 
had  been  appointed  to  treat  with  the  Pottawattamies  in  September  for  their 
country  bordering  on  the  State  of  Illinois.  He  said  the  Pottawattamies  would 
sell  their  country  and  were  willing  to  move  west  of  the  Mississippi,  but  that 
their  crop  of  corn  would  be  ripe  in  September,  and  that  they  could  not  remove 
their  corn  with  them,  and  that  they  would  necessarily  remain  until  spring, 
which  would  give  them  the  advantage  of  hunting  in  the  Winnebago  country 
during  the  winter.  Mr.  Marsh  has  a  wife  and  children  among  the  Winneba- 
goes.  Several  of  the  Winnebago  chiefs  have  applied  to  me  for  permission  to 
return  to  hunt  on  the  ceded  lands,  which  I  have  positively  denied  them. 

I  met  Mr.  Rolette  near  the  Portage  on  my  return,  who  informed  me  of  the 
order  Col.  Taylor  had  received  as  to  the  marching  of  the  Rangers  to  the  Sioux 
and  Chippeway  country,  and  appeared  much  interested  in  the  contemplated 
movement  up  the  Mississippi.  The  American  Fur  Company  to  which  he  is 
attached  is  no  doubt  greatly  interested  that  peace  should  be  preserved  between 
the  respective  Indian  nations  with  whom  they  have  intercourse.  This  trader 
has  been  deeply  interested  in  the  Rock  river  trade. 

I  think  the  proper  course  \vould  be  to  range  the  country  bordering  on  the 
Wisconsin  from  Helena  to  the  Portage  until  the  term  for  which  the  Rangers 
are  enlisted  expires.  I  have  made  an  arrangement  with  Col.  Cutler,  com 
manding  officer  at  Fort  Winnebago  to  send  me  an  express  immediately  should 
the  Winnebagoes  not  cross  the  Wisconsin.  He  thinks  it  would  be  improper 
for  them  to  remain  on  the  lands  of  the  Menomonees.  Under  my  orders  I 
should  consider  I  was  bound  to  remove  them  across  the  Wisconsin.  To  per 
mit  them  to  remain  on  the  lands  of  the  Menomonees  would  facilitate  their 
immediate  return  to  the  Rock  river  country. 

Capt.  Beekes  enlisted  the  greater  part  of  his  company  on  the  7th  of  July. 
Their  time  would  expire  on  the  march  to  the  Sioux  and  Chippeway  country. 
The  time  of  enlistment  of  Capt.  Browne's  company  would  expire  about  three 
weeks  after  that  time.  From  the  disposition  already  evinced  by  the  Rangers 
of  Beekes's  company,  Col.  Taylor  would  find  it  difficult  to  do  anything  with 
them.  Capt.  Browne's  company  appear  satisfied,  and  I  think  there  would  be 
no  difficulty  with  them. 

DODGEVILLE,    July     I4th,    1833. 

General  H.  Atkinson: 

I  ordered  the  Rangers  to  range  the  country  carefully,  and  to  take  all  strag 
gling  Indians  they  might  find  within  the  limits  of  the  ceded  country,  and 
retain  them  in  safe  keeping  until  further  orders.  From  a  conversation  I  had 
with  Daugherty  and  Mack,  two  Indian  traders  on  Rock  river,  I  suspected 
them  for  secretly  advising  a  part  of  the  Winnebagoes  to  return  to  Rock  river. 
The  Indian  wife  of  Daugherty  is  the  relation  of  Whirling  Thunder,  the  princi 
pal  chief  of  the  Rock  River  Indians. 

Whirling  Thunder,  his  family,  with  several  men  (the  party  of  Winnebagoes 


74 


HENRY  DOIXTK. 


was  composed  of  about  twenty,  including  children)  were  found  on  Sugar  creek, 
where  they  had  camped.  Daugherty  had  furnished  his  wagon  to  transport  the 
baggage.of  Whirling  Thunder  and  his  party.  A  white  man  by  the  name  of 
Davie  was  drawing  the  wagon  with  two  Frenchmen;  Emmell  and  another 
(his  name  I  do  not  know)  were  in  company.  They  were  taken  with  Whirling 
Thunder  and  his  party  by  Lieut.  Wheelock  of  the  U.  S.  Rangers,  under  the 
orders  of  Capt.  Beekes,  and  conducted  to  the  camp  of  the  Rangers  near  the 
Four  Lakes.  I  was  immediately  notified  by  express,  and  repaired  without 
delay  to  the  Four  Lakes  where  I  found  the  Indians  and  the  three  white  men 
under  guard.  I  released  the  whites,  and  sent  Lieut.  Fry,  of  the  U.  S.  Rangers, 
with  fifty  men  as  an  escort  to  guard  Whirling  Thunder  and  his  party  to  the 
Portage,  and  cross  them  over  the  Wisconsin  river. 

In  mv  conference  with  the  Winnebagoes  at  the  Portage,  I  discovered  a 
desire  on  the  part  of  the  Winnebagoes  to  hunt  on  the  lands  of  the  Menomonees 
on  Fox  river.  I  suspected  them  for  occupying  that  country  only  for  the 
moment  and  then  passing  to  the  Upper  Rock  river.  The  Winnebagoes  and 
Menomonees  appear  very  friendly  at  present,  and  I  have  thought  it  probable 
there  might  be  a  secret  understanding  between  them  to  that  effect.  Pauquette, 
the  interpreter  at  the  Portage,  with  whom  you  are  acquainted,  appears  to 
think,  unless  the  Winnebagoes  are  permitted  to  hunt  on  the  lands  of  the 
Menomonees  there  will  be  difficulty  between  them,  unless  the  latter  nation  is 
prevented  from  hunting  on  the  lands  of  the  Winnebagoes. 

The  Rangers  commanded  by  Capt.  Beekes,  whose  term  of  service  expired, 
as  they  state,  on  the  7th  of  July,  presented  themselves  forty-two  in  number, 
and  demanded  of  the  captain  their  discharge,  stating  they  could  only  be  com 
pelled  to  serve  the  U.  S.  twelve  months  from  the  date  of  their  enlistment,  not 
from  the  time  they  were  mustered  by  the  inspecting  officer  into  service.  These 
men  commenced  stacking  their  public  arms  immediately  before  the  tent  of  the 
captain,  mounted  their  horses,  and  started  for  Indiana.  A  part  of  the  balance 
have  left  the  service  in  the  same  manner  since,  leaving  not  more  than  twenty 
men  in  Capt.  Beekes'  company,  with  two  First  Lieutenants,  one  Second  Lieu 
tenant,  and  two  Brevet  Lieutenants.  Capt.  Beekes  applied  to  me  for  a  fur 
lough  to  return  to  Indiana;  he  has  had  a  severe  attack  of  the  rheumatic  pains, 
and  is  at  present  unfit  for  service.  I  granted  him  a  furlough  of  sixty  days. 

The  term  of  time  for  which  Capt  Browne's  men  have  been  enlisted,  upon 
the  principle  contended  by  the  Rangers  of  Capt.  Beekes'  company,  will  expire 
in  a  few  days,  and  should  they  discharge  themselves  in  the  same  manner  that 
Capt.  Beekes'  men  left  the  service,  this  will  leave  the  frontier  without  mounted 
men.  Capt.  Browne  has  two  First  Lieutenants,  one  Second  Lieutenant,  one 
Third  Lieutenant,  and  one  Brevet  Lieutenant  attached  to  his  company;  there 
will  be  eleven  officers  in  both  companies. 

Under  the  General  Order  of  the  nth  of  March  the  Mounted  Rangers  were 
held  in  readiness  for  active  service  until  relieved  by  the  Regular  Cavalry. 
Under  that  Order  I  felt  myself  bound  not  to  discharge  the  Rangers  until  I 
received  orders  to  that  effect.  Had  the  country  been  in  a  state  of  war  with  the 
Indians,  I  should  have  taken  stronger  grounds.  I  think,  however,  a  mounted 
force  should  be  kept  on  this  frontier,  and  that  something  should  be  done  with 


HENRY  DODGE.  75 

the  Indian  traders  who  urge  the  Indians  to  violate  their  treaties  with  the  U.  S. 
If  we  hav£  trouble  on  this  frontier,  it  will  be  more  the  fault  of  the  traders  than 
the  . JLndia'ns r  the  large  amount  now  to  be  paid  the  Winnebagoes  makes  their 
trade  valuable;  these  traders  are  generally  married  to  Indian  women,  and  they 
always  exercise  an  improper  influence  over  the  minds  of  the  Indians. 

Will  you  have  the  goodness  to  direct  the  disposition  I  shall  make  of  the 
o racers  under  my  command;.'on  'this  frontier,  should  the  Rangers  discharge 
themselves. 

July  iSth,  i833. 
General  Atkinson: 

I  regret  to  inform  you  that  the  cholera  has  made  its  appearance  in  the  camp 
of  the  Rangers  near  the  Wisconsin.  Yesterday  two  privates  of  Capt.  Browne's 
company  died  in  a  few  hours  after  their  attack,  and  the  Captain  informs  me 
there  are  several  men  who  have  the  premonitory  symptoms  of  this  disease.  I 
have  sent  an  express  for  Dr.  Phileo,  and,  if  it  is  not  in  his  power  to  come  to 
our  assistance,  to  send  Dr.  Crane.  Dr.  McLaren  is  a  good  young  man,  and  no 
doubt  a  good  physician,  but  has  had  no  experience  in  this  terrible  disease. 

I  wrote  you' by  the  mail  yesterday  fully;  this  letter  is  sent  by  the  express 
who  is  the  bearer  of  my  letter  to  Dr.  Phileo. 

Early  in  August  Col.  Dodge  closed  the  work  of  the  U.  S. 
Rangers  upon  the  Northwestern  frontier,  leaving  a  small 
detachment  of  thirty-five  men  upon  the  ground,  whose  term 
of  service  had  not  expired,  under  the  following  order: 

NORTHWESTERN  FRONTIER,  August  7th,  1833. 

Second  Lieutenant  James  Clyman, 

Commanding'  a  Detachment  of  U.  S.  Rangers: 

You  will  remain  in  the  neighborhood  of  Dodgeville  with  the  detachment 
under  your  command;  your  supplies  of  rations  will  be  issued  by  Third  Lieu 
tenant  John  G.  McDonald,  until  the  first  of  October,  at  which  time  you  will 
discharge  the  men  of  your  detachment,  unless  sooner  discharged  by  the  order 
of  Brigadier  General  Atkinson.  You  will  once  in  two  weeks  range  the  coun 
try  from  your  camp  near  Dodgeville  to  the  Four  Lakes,  where  you  will  be 
able  to  get  information  as  to  the  movements  of  the  Winnebagoes.  Should  you 
find  any  of  them  you  will  treat  them  friendly,  and  take  no  step  that  could  pos 
sibly  involve  the  frontier  inhabitants  in  difficulty  with  the  Indians;  but  should 
you  ascertain  that  the  Winnebagoes  are  returning  to  the  lands  they  have  ceded 
the  United  States,  you  will  without  delay  report  the  facts  to  General  Atkinson 
at  Jefferson  Barracks,  or  myself,  should  I  be  stationed  at  that  place. 

While  occupied  with  the  organization  of  the  regiment  of 
Dragoons  at  St.  Louis,  his  brother,  Dr.  Linn,  was  called  to 
St.  Genevieve  by  the  earnest  entreaties  of  his  old  friends  in 
that  place,  where  there  was  a  virulent  outbreak  of  cholera. 


76  HKNKY    Dm><;i:. 

In  ministering  to  HUMII  Dr.  Linn  was  himself  seized  with  the 
epidemic,  and  anticipating  a  fatal  result,  he  despatched  a  mes 
senger  for  his  wife,  who  was  at  St.  Louis,  to  come  to  him. 
She  immediately  hurried  on  her  way,  driving  down  on  the 
Illinois  side  of  the  river,  and  crossing  the  river  again  at  St. 
Genevieve.  in  imminent  peril  in  the  darkness  of  the  night, 
when  she  found  her  hushand  still  living,  and  that  hopes  were 
entertained  of  his  recovery.  Soon  after  she  had  left  St.  Louis, 
Col.  Dodge  was  advised  of  it,  and  he  hastened  to  overtake  her, 
but  she  was  too  swift  in  her  journey.  .  On  reaching  St.  Gene- 
vieve  the  next  morning,  he  told  Mrs.  Linn  that  he  had  fre 
quently  overtaken  Indians  running  from  him  with  all  the 
fleetness  for  which  they  are  remarkable,  but  he  should  never 
again  try  to  overtake  a  wife  flying  to  seek  a  sick  husband. 
He  had  left  St.  Louis  half  an  hour  after  her,  and  although 
mounted  on  a  tine  horse  had  tried  in  vain  to  overtake  her.1 


i      Life  and  Public  Services  of   Dr.  Lewis  F.  Linn,  bv  Mrs.  K.  A.  Linn  and 

Nat  ban  Sargent,  pp.  72-77. 


